Alleged killer driver, 26, is charged with murder over deadly Bourke street crash – as chilling photo shows him sitting on top of his smashed car and his mother speaks out

An accused killer driver has been charged with murder and attempted murder after allegedly killing an elderly driver and injuring several others when he plowed through a crowd of pedestrians in Melbourne’s CBD.

Zain Khan, 26, has been charged with one count of murder, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of causing serious injury with intent and two counts of conduct endangering life during Friday’s chaos on Bourke Street.

He allegedly drove his mother’s white Toyota sedan through a tram stop and into a crowd of pedestrians before colliding with two other vehicles around 6:20 p.m.

Victoria Police have charged Khan accelerated the car after allegedly mowing down three pedestrians at a tram stop on the corner of Bourke Street and Swanston Street.

A 76-year-old Brunswick man driving a Hyandi died at the scene.

Two people traveling in a gray Mazda, aged 30 and 37 and both from Diggers Rest, were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Three pedestrians – a 26-year-old man from South Yarra, a 23-year-old woman from China and a 35-year-old woman from Docklands – were also injured.

Terrifying footage shows Khan, dressed in all white, sitting on the roof of the Toyota for several minutes before police officers took him down and arrested him.

His comments in the minutes after the three-car collision were said to have been recorded on their body-worn cameras.

Police Chief Shane Patton said this footage would be important in determining whether his actions behind the wheel were intentional.

Khan was held under police guard at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where police delayed interviewing him for at least 24 hours due to mental health concerns.

During an out-of-hours hearing on Saturday evening, the 26-year-old was remanded in custody to appear in M.Elbourne Magistrates’ Court on January 15, 2024.

Police confirmed that Khan is known to have a history of mental illness and have ruled out terrorism as a possible motive.

He said the white Toyota Aurion at the center of the tragedy belonged to his mother Commissioner Patton.

He said there had been no reports of Khan driving erratically before the incident and confirmed he had no criminal record.

‘He has no criminal history. He is not out on bail. “He is essentially a ‘clean skin’, a term used by Victoria Police for someone who has had no police involvement,” he said.

“The only evidence we have of that man is that he was previously reported missing and we had some involvement with him in 2020 for a mental health transfer.”

Commissioner Patton said it was likely to bring back memories of a strikingly similar incident that occurred on Bourke Street in 2017 in which six people were killed.

“We will be conducting reassurance patrols around the city today to ensure the public can feel reassured. Melbourne is an extremely safe city,” he said.

It comes as Khan’s mother revealed her son had struggled with his mental health since 2017 and had packed a bag before the incident.

‘He’s very sad… he’s sick. He has a mental health history and a mental illness from 2017,” she told 7News.

‘It is difficult. I thought, you know, what he did, I heard he hurt people, I was shocked by that part.”

Graphic videos taken at the scene on Friday show pedestrians frantically tending to two people outside a McDonald’s after they were run over.

People can be heard screaming as others administer first aid to the injured as police officers, paramedics and firefighters swarmed the scene.

Bourke Street remained closed on Friday evening until tow trucks could remove the destroyed cars from the scene.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews thanked bystanders who came to the aid of injured drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

“I wanted to thank, on behalf of all Victorians, the members of police who very quickly and with great courage did the most important work in securing the scene and taking the suspect into custody,” Andrews said on Saturday.

‘And finally I would like to thank the many, many Victorians who were on the ground and who stayed and extended that hand of friendship and were happy to support and help the (injured) people.’

Six people were killed and 27 injured when James Gargasoulas crashed into them after driving into Bourke Street Mall in 2017, although Friday night’s crash is not believed to be related to this incident.