A gray Toyota ran over a curb at one of Melbourne’s biggest pop culture conventions, striking three young men walking home from the event. The driver killed one of them at the scene. A second was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries to his lower limbs. Both surviving men are in their 20s. Police arrested the 33-year-old driver before he could leave the area.
The Supanova Comic Con and Gaming event at the Melbourne Showgrounds was wrapping up its first day at the time. Attendees were filing out into the surrounding streets when the car came up onto the footpath. That’s when chaos broke out and innocent bystanders became involved.
Victoria Police have investigated what caused the driver to leave the road and meander toward the men. They’ve looked into whether speed, alcohol, or drugs played a role. They’ve also focused, in particular, on one detail that the lead investigator has publicly called “extremely odd”.
The vehicle didn’t stop at the spot where it struck the three men. According to police, it continued for roughly another 120 meters along the path before it finally rolled to a halt. This strange tidbit has investigators stumped, wondering why the driver kept going.
The Driver Kept Going
The grey Toyota was spotted at the two-day Supanova Comic Con and Gaming while the event was underway. Three men in their 20s who had been at the convention were walking together when the car drove up onto it. Two of the three were hit. One was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was rushed to the hospital with what police described as significant lower-limb injuries.
Detective Inspector Craig McEvoy of the Victoria Police described the most unusual aspect of the case as the distance the Toyota travelled after striking the men. According to police, the car had crossed the southbound lanes of the road, climbed onto the footpath and hit the two men then kept going. The reason it kept going, McEvoy said, had not been established.
A witness identified as Tom told The Age newspaper that he’d been leaving the convention with his wife and daughter when a Toyota sped past them. He had heard a screech as the car mounted the curb before striking pedestrians. The vehicle did a U-turn and drove back down the street before stalling.
Tom approached the car and attempted to hold the driver until police arrived. His wife, a paramedic, worked on one of the victims for about 20 minutes until ambulances reached the scene. An off-duty police officer was ultimately able to detain the driver.
The Subsequent Arrest and Suspect
Police identified the driver as a 33-year-old man from Melbourne. He stayed under police guard while in the hospital as the investigation continued. Supanova Comic Con and Gaming organizers announced at the time that the convention would continue as planned the next day.
However, the event staff confirmed that a moment of silence would be observed at 10 a.m. before the doors opened. The call for the respectful gesture was shared on social media. Attendees offered an outpouring of respect to those lost to the man’s crimes.