The alleged driver of a stolen car that hit two teenage boys on their way to school in Canberra on Friday has appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court.
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00:00A 31-year-old Melbourne Victorian man, Taylor Hazel, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court
00:08this morning.
00:09Now, that follows this dramatic incident in Canberra yesterday.
00:13It all started just north of the border here in the New South Wales town of Sutton, where
00:18the man allegedly stole a car from a childcare centre.
00:23An eight-year-old girl was in that car at that time.
00:27She was able to exit the vehicle a short time later and was physically unharmed.
00:33Police say the man then continued to drive the car towards the ACT into an area in south
00:40Canberra where police say he hit two teenage boys outside their school, St Edmunds College,
00:48on Canberra Avenue, a very busy road, and very busy at that time of the morning as well.
00:54The man continued to drive.
00:56He didn't stop.
00:57He then, about a kilometre from hitting those two students, he then crashed the car.
01:03And that's when he was apprehended by a group of tradies, and then police were able to take
01:08him into custody.
01:09Now, this morning, he was charged with a number of offences and then did appear in court.
01:14He pleaded with the magistrate not to be sent to hospital for a mental health assessment
01:20that police were requesting.
01:22He ended up being ordered to go to hospital to have that mental health assessment by the
01:28magistrate.
01:30He will now appear in court at a later date, but his lawyers did indicate that there would
01:35be no application for bail.
01:37Okay, Monty, and has there been an update on the condition of the two boys?
01:42Well, these two teenage boys, they were aged 14 and 15.
01:47They were outside their school, and they were left with some very severe injuries.
01:54They were taken to hospital, where they underwent emergency surgery.
01:58We have heard today that they remain in a serious condition in hospital this morning,
02:03but certainly there has been a lot of support expressed for the school community, for the
02:08families of the two boys.
02:10The ACT Education Minister, Yvette Berry, says that this is a tragic incident, and her
02:16thoughts are with the community there, and also the people that responded to the incident.
02:20So certainly a very dramatic incident here in Canberra, Mel.