Elderly man 'overwhelmed' as he faces court accused of hit-run

An elderly Perth man, accused of hitting an UberEats cyclist with his car and leaving her for dead, has faced court after police spent more than two weeks trying to track him down.

Colin Clive Johnson, 86, was charged over the alleged hit and run that left 23-year-old Javiera Morgado with serious injuries.

The UberEats rider was cycling along Bishopgate Street in Carsilsle around 9pm one day in March when she was struck by a car, became trapped underneath the vehicle and dragged along the road for more than 100 metres.

A witness claimed seeing the driver hit Ms Morgado, then reverse over her, before speeding away. She suffered severe burns and cuts to her arms, hands and face and spent days recovering in hospital.

It took detectives weeks to find Mr Johnson and he was eventually charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, failure to stop and offer assistance as well as failing to report the crash.

At court today, the 86-year-old appeared frail and struggled to understand the magistrates' comments.

When asked if he required an interpreter his lawyer replied “no - he is just overwhelmed”.

Mr Johnson will return to court next month.