A Pakistani man has been refused bail after being charged with murder for allegedly driving head-on into a woman’s car on a highway near Canberra.
Waqas Haider, 40, who lives in the ACT suburb of Charnwood, is accused of killing Samantha Holmes, 36, from the small town of Candelo in NSW, on the Monaro Highway near Michelago in the early hours of March 1, and fleeing the scene.
ACT Policing issued a wanted man alert after the crash, describing Haider as a “a threat to himself and others”, but he was then found in a paddock suffering a broken angle and was taken to Canberra Hospital and given a mental health assessment before being extradited to NSW on Tuesday.
He was charged with murder, dangerous driving occasioning death, failing to stop and assist after a vehicle impact causing death, and two counts each of predatory driving and dangerous driving, and faced bail court on Wednesday where he was remanded in custody, Region Canberra reported.
According to court documents relating to Haider’s appearance in the ACT Magistrates Court before his mental health assessment, police allege Haider drove his silver Toyota Prado head-on towards another driver, who had his 10-year-old daughter in the car, at 9.30pm on February 28 before swerving at the last minute.
Haider then allegedly did a U-turn and repeated his actions several times before the other driver hid in a parking lot and called police. Two other drivers then reported similar alleged incidents with a silver Prado with its headlights off after 11.30pm.
Police alleged that Ms Holmes was about 15km south of Michelago in her Mazda CX5 just after midnight when Haider drove onto her side of the road and crashed into her. No brake marks were found on the road, police said in the court documents.
Ms Holmes was found alive trapped in the wreckage by a passer-by but could not be saved by paramedics and died at the scene, while Haider jumped out of his car and allegedly fled to the paddock 500m away where he was found at about 10.30am, telling police he’d been sleeping in a nearby creek bed.
“The accused drove in a manner dangerous to other road users, both in the lead up to the collision over several hours and at the time of the crash,” the court documents alleged.
“The accused drove no less than 750 metres on a straight section of road, with his headlights turned off, knowing a vehicle was approaching in the oncoming direction.
“The accused drove across the centrelines and into the oncoming vehicle at speed, resulting in the collision.”
Haider will face Queanbeyan Local Court on June 2.
Header image: Left, right, Waqas Haider (ACT Policing).
