Alisha Fagan: Melbourne woman accused of causing a granddad’s death is bailed for the fifth time

A magistrate has told a Melbourne woman it was almost inevitable a catastrophic event would flow from her driving.

Despite opposition from the grieving family of grandfather Sedat Hassan, Alisha Jane Fagan, who is accused of killing him, has been freed on bail.

It’s alleged Fagan, 22, was doing at least 78km/h in a 50km/h zone when she crashed her black Audi into Mr Hassan’s Honda in Sunshine West on June 9 this year.

She denies being the driver, but DNA on the driver’s airbag is a match to her with a probability of one to 100 billion, magistrate John Hardy was told.

The charge of dangerous driving causing death is the 14th matter Fagan currently has before the courts. She was on four counts of bail at the time of the crash.

Charges include driving while suspended, speeding up to 150km/h and being pursued by police, Detective Senior Constable Jason Barry-Bassett said.

During one incident it’s alleged Fagan drove over police speed sticks and continued with one tyre detached from the wheel rim.

With that alleged history it was ‘almost inevitable’ something tragic would occur, Mr Hardy said.

‘The real worry I had, and have, is that she has some kind of psychological addiction to driving cars, even when she knows she shouldn’t be,’ he said.

Fagan had been held in custody at Melbourne’s women’s prison, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, since June.

She wore a rosary around her neck and cried heavily throughout the bail application on Wednesday morning.

Members of Mr Hassan’s family also watched the hearing by videolink.

Their primary concern is that what happened to their father and grandfather will happen to someone else, prosecutor Daniel White said.

‘As your honour has already indicated, this was inevitable,’ he said.

In a previous court appearance, Fagan lashed out in court screaming, crying and insisting she ‘tried to help him’.

Her three passengers allegedly fled the scene in what police later described as a ‘bastard act’.

During a two-hour hearing in June, Fagan wailed as details of the crash were read out, as her lawyer noted a concern for her welfare.

‘I tried to help him… I couldn’t help him,’ she screamed. ‘How do I get it out of my head?

‘I cannot stop thinking about it. Every time I try to sleep I just see him. I tried to help him, I tried to help him.’

Fagan was the only person involved in the crash to wait behind and render assistance to the dying grandfather, police claim.

Detective Sergeant Stephen Hill said other occupants in her car were ‘cowardly’ to ‘run away from the scene’. 

‘If they had have remained … instead of running away, they may have been able to save him,’ he said.

‘The law says you need to stop and you need to help because you have a real chance of saving someone’s life.

‘It’s a real bastard act to leave a person dying on the side of the road as a result of a collision you’ve been involved in.’

Fagan was charged with dangerous driving causing death, possessing a controlled weapon, possessing a drug of dependence and breaching bail, among other charges.

Her lawyer said the 22-year-old has chronic depression and borderline personality disorder, and has threatened to self harm.

Detective Senior Constable Barry Bassett said she has a ‘blanket disregard for the law’. 

Her traffic record was read to the court, with police saying she was an ‘extreme risk’ to the public.

‘I’ve got a very, very concerning bundle of matters (she’s) picked up over the last 15 months,’ the magistrate said.

‘This all smacks of a young person who is completely out of control. I am really left in a situation where I have huge concerns about what’s going on with her.’ 

Ms Fagan’s family sat at the back of the court to offer support. At one stage, her father was seen consoling her.