Melbourne mum Alisha Fagan who blamed ‘African men’ for deadly crash is jailed

A Melbourne woman who killed a grandfather in a crash and then tried to blame a group of African men is going back to prison with her newborn to join her.

Alisha Fagan was sentenced to at least six months in prison on Thursday after killing a beloved father and grandfather in a horror crash in Sunshine West last June.

The 22-year-old’s case was delayed in Victorian County Koori Court as judge Scott Johns questioned what options were available for her to give birth in prison or have her child with her in custody.

Details about her pregnancy were suppressed by the court while her case was heard and Thursday’s verdict was postponed until after she gave birth in July.

Her infant daughter was in court when she was sentenced to a total of two and a half years behind bars after pleading guilty to driving a car and bailing.

Fagan was on four sets of bail for traffic violations when she hit and killed 69-year-old grandfather Sedat Hassan on June 9, 2022.

Judge Johns said Fagan, a suspended learner driver, had a terrible driving record before the fatal collision and a history of driving at excessive speeds.

She had been drinking and was driving 17 mph (28 km/h) over the speed limit on a residential street when she failed to give way at an intersection and crashed into Mr. Hassan’s car.

Fagan’s passengers fled, but she waited for emergency services to arrive and then gave police a false name.

She claimed that four African men she did not know were in the car with her, and that one of them had been the driver.

Judge Johns said the depth of Mr. Hassan’s family’s grief cannot be put into words.

He said Fagan had suffered much over the past 14 months but had grown and expressed genuine remorse and that her circumstances deserved clemency and mercy.

Judge Johns said Fagan’s pre-crash lifestyle was erratic and she taught herself to drive because no one else was there.

He said she struggled with anxiety and accepted that the 76 days she spent in custody before being released on bail last year were “terrifying and traumatic.”

Judge Johns took into account the additional punishment she received from media coverage of her offense and comments from social media users about her actions.

A medical expert said Fagan had a deep desire to be a loving breadwinner for her child and wanted to keep her baby in her custody.

The judge accepted that she was under pressure about what would happen to her child, noting that the removal of children from Indigenous parents was an ongoing problem and trauma.

Her application to participate in the Corrections Victoria Living With Mum program, which allows women to maintain their connection with their children in custody, was approved.

Fagan previously read an apology letter to Mr. Hassan’s family, saying she took full responsibility for her actions as a severe alcoholic with no impulse control and no understanding of consequences.

“Please know that who I was then and who I am now is not the same person,” she said.

Fagan’s license was also revoked for two years. If she serves her time, she will be eligible for parole later this year.

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