Police have charged a 38-year-old Maroochydore man with eight counts of attempted murder following a serious traffic incident on December 13 that investigators are treating as an intentional, deliberate act.

The incident occurred around 11:55 p.m. on Aerodrome Road, near the intersection of Fourth Avenue, when a white Toyota Yaris allegedly struck a group of eight pedestrians.

Critical Injuries and Intentional Act

One of the pedestrians, a 24-year-old woman from New South Wales, sustained life-threatening injuries and remains in a critical condition after being airlifted to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Her family is flying up from New South Wales to be with their daughter, who was visiting Queensland just before Christmas. Three other pedestrians—two 18-year-old men and a 19-year-old man—were transported to Sunshine Coast University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police quickly located and took the driver, the sole occupant of the vehicle, into custody at an Alexandra Parade address a short time after he fled the scene.

Detective Acting Inspector Peter Hocken confirmed that evidence gathered has led police to treat the crash as deliberate. “The information we’ve got and the evidence we’ve received at the scene and through other investigations, we’re treating this as intentional, deliberate act by the male offender, to drive that vehicle into the sidewalk, hitting those pedestrians,” he stated.

Motive Tied to Prior Altercation

Investigators believe the incident stemmed from a minor altercation that occurred shortly before the crash. According to police, the male offender drove his Toyota Yaris away after the initial confrontation, which was minor in nature. However, being “aggrieved at the first incident,” he allegedly returned a few minutes later and located the group.

It is believed the driver initially took offense to males crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing, leading him to challenge them. The female pedestrians who were struck, including the woman who sustained life-threatening injuries, were unknown to the males and “just happened to be walking on that sidewalk at that time”.

Police are still investigating whether the 38-year-old man was under the influence of any substance during the incident. He is due to appear in Maroochydore Magistrates Court today, December 15.