Key witness who was inside car that allegedly SA Police commissioner’s son Charlie Stevens drops major bombshell

A woman who was in the car that allegedly hit the son of South Australian police commissioner Charlie Stevens told police the teen “was crossing the road just before impact and came into the path of the vehicle.”

Montana Rose Bowd was one of four witnesses interviewed by police after Dhirren Singh Randhawa was arrested and charged over the death of Charlie Steven, according to court documents seen by the Adelaide Advertiser.

Prosecutors allege Ms Bowd told police she observed a pair of men on the west side of the road, and partially on the sidewalk, and another man on the east side of the road.

They claim she said the man was crossing the road on the east side of the road and came into the path of Dhirren’s car.

She told police that Dhirren drove a short distance away and called his mother to ask whether he should call police or go to a police station in person, the documents show.

This version of events differs from that of three witnesses waiting with Charlie.

They claim Randhawa made a U-turn in his car and drove into Stevens as they waited for a Schoolies shuttle bus to take them back to Victor Harbor from Goolwa Beach on Friday evening.

The witnesses, who said they were waiting with Charlie, say they stopped Mr Randhawa, who was driving a blue VW Golf, to see if they could hitch a ride.

But there was not enough room in the car and witnesses say Mr Randhawa drove away before making a U-turn.

He then allegedly accelerated and began driving on the wrong side of the road before hitting Charlie, court documents show.

The witness said Mr Randhawa then drove a short distance before calling his mother and asking whether he should hand himself in at a police station or call the police.

While he was talking to her, police arrived and arrested him, the witness said.

The charging document, which details the eyewitness accounts, was lodged at Christies Beach Magistrates Court on Monday, where Mr Randhawa made his first appearance in the afternoon.

His mother Amreeta Stara attended the court, sitting in the front row of the room.

She sat quietly and said nothing as she went in or out of the courthouse.

The court granted Mr Randhawa bail and he left the court with his mother and supporters in the late afternoon, walking through a horde of media to a waiting car.

South Australia is reeling from the tragedy.

Charlie suffered irreversible brain damage in the impact and Mr Stevens, his wife Emma and their four other children, Sophie, Dylan, Josh and Tom, said goodbye to Charlie at Flinders Medical Center along with their extended family.

Charlie died Saturday at 7:01 p.m.

Photos of the car show damage to the driver’s side of the car.

Police have charged Mr Randhawa with causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated driving without due care, leaving the scene of an accident after causing death and failing to actually answer questions.

If found guilty, he faces a maximum prison sentence of fifteen years and disqualification from holding or obtaining a driver’s license for ten years.

Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton KC is hearing the case for the prosecution and he did not oppose bail for the teenager.

Randhawa’s bail conditions include forfeiting his passport, agreeing to stay with his mother and putting aside $15,000 as a guarantee.

Mr Randhawa has also been banned from contacting four people involved in the case.

Ms Stara offered her condolences to the Stevens family in a statement on Saturday.

“I extend my deepest condolences to the Stevens family and my heart breaks to think of the suffering and pain they are experiencing,” she said.

“Out of respect and recognizing that this is now a matter for the courts, I will not comment further at this time.”

The family has hired lawyer Jane Abbey KC to help with Mr Randhawa’s legal case.

Mr Randhawa, from Encounter Bay and a graduate of Victor Harbor High School, had a provisional license at the time.

He worked as an apprentice hairdresser at a Goolwa hairdresser and it is clear that he had ambitions to study at university.

He will next appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in March.

Charlie’s death is the 101st fatality on South Australian roads this year, compared to just 61 in the same period last year.

It was a second tragedy for police, just hours after the shocking alleged shooting death of police officer Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig, 53, at a remote property near Bordertown in the state’s south-east.

Mr Stevens traveled to Bordertown on Friday to express his sadness at the tragedy, which saw the first South Australian police officer killed in an on-duty shooting in four decades.