'I am not angel, I am human': Driver apologises for hit-run on Perth schoolgirl
A driver who ran down a Perth schoolgirl before fleeing has apologised, saying she's only "human".
Alexis Ryan's family was frustrated today when Tahira Shaheen's sentencing was delayed after a judge struggled to accept she was intellectually disabled.
The 51-year-old ran down the then-12-year-old near Willetton Senior High in 2023, left her there and hid from police for months.
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Alexis Ryan's family was frustrated today when Tahira Shaheen's sentencing was delayed after a judge struggled to accept she was intellectually disabled. 9News
But outside court today, she said it was a mistake.
"I am not angel, I am human," she said.
"I mistakenly, it's accident."
Police said Shaheen had never held a licence when she struck Alexis, leaving her with a broken leg and collarbone.
"It's been almost two years, Lexi woke up this morning in tears crying from the pain in her leg from where the break was," mother Tory Carter said outside court today.
Now a teenager, Alexis was too distraught to attend court today for what was meant to be Shaheen's sentencing for failing to stop after the crash and for not reporting it to police.
But that decision was delayed over a defence-issued psychological report.
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The 51-year-old ran down the then-12-year-old near Willetton Senior High in 2023, left her there and hid from police for months. 9News
The report found the 51-year-old has the verbal abilities of a 10-year-old child, and non-verbal skills of a six-year-old.
But Judge Laura Christian said "it's just not adding up" for a woman who studied at college in Pakistan and now has a licence.
She ordered her own assessment, the findings of which may determine whether Shaheen spends time in jail, ahead of the October sentencing.
Asked outside court if she intended to apologise, Shaheen said, "Yes, yes I am really apologise."
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Alexis Ryan's family was frustrated today when Tahira Shaheen's sentencing was delayed after a judge struggled to accept she was intellectually disabled. 9News
"Of course, I am mother, I am woman."
Carter said a precedent needed to be set.
"People need to know that you can't hit a child and drive off and not come forward," she said, outside court.
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