Woman killed in 'despicable' hit and run in Melbourne

A young woman on a weekend break to Melbourne has been killed in a hit and run after a night out with friends.

Tanami Nayler, 22, was with friends in the early hours of Saturday morning when she was struck by a driver in an allegedly stolen car and dragged for 70-metres.

She was walking over a pedestrian crossing in west Melbourne when she was hit by the car believed to be travelling at 100km/h in a 60km/h zone, News Corp reports.

New Zealand national, Nicholas Michael Davison, 21, was charged with multiple offences and faced a Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Saturday. He will reappear on Wednesday.

Ms Nayler, who worked as a manager at a fashion store in Sydney, had only arrived in Melbourne hours earlier to spend a weekend in the city with friends.

Her cousin Joshua Leisk, told the Herald Sun his family were distraught over the sudden death of the "kind, generous and loving," young woman.

"It’s one of those senseless things. You can’t predict something like that," he said.

Detective Inspector Stuart McGregor described the tragedy as "despicable".

"All she did was just walk across the pedestrian crossing, legally, and [she] has unfortunately paid with her life because of someone else's behaviour,' Insp McGregor told reporters in Melbourne.

"It's fair to say that this is probably one of the lowest acts I think you can commit on the road.

'Unfortunately, we've seen the worst of humanity where the driver has got out and just run away. No attempt to assist, no attempt to concern themselves with the welfare of the person he has hit. To me it's just despicable."