The mother of former professional cyclist Mel Hoskins has told an Adelaide court today that her daughter’s death in late 2023 was a "tragic accident."
Hoskins died after being struck by a car driven by her husband, former professional Rohan Dennis, outside their north Adelaide home in December 2023. Hoskins’s mother, Amanda Hoskins, told the Adelaide District Court that she knew Dennis would never intentionally hurt her daughter, saying that “this was a tragic accident and an accident that should never have happened.”
"She didn't deserve this, for all the good she did,” Amanda Hoskins said, according to reports from ABC News. “She always put her family first. Her death is so unfair and tragic.
“Melissa was the best thing that ever happened to you,” she continued, addressing Dennis. "Rohan, you loved Melissa, and I know that you would never intentionally hurt her.
"Your temper is your downfall and needs to be addressed."
Amanda Hoskins’ was one of three victim impact statements delivered to the court today. Hoskins’ father Peter and sister Jessica Locke also provided statements explaining the impact Mel’s death had on the family.
Last December, Dennis pleaded guilty to an aggravated act likely to cause harm after negotiations with the prosecution saw Dennis’ original charges downgraded. He had initially been charged with causing death by dangerous driving and an aggravated charge of driving without due care but the prosecution later accepted that Dennis had not intended to kill his wife.
In court today, prosecutor Tali Costi said that while Dennis was not criminally responsible for Hoskins’ death he was "reckless to the fact she was holding onto the vehicle.”
"It is the continuing act of driving down Medindie Lane, when Mrs Dennis was positioned on the bonnet of the vehicle, to the point when she had come off the bonnet but was standing very close to the vehicle and the act of accelerating," Costi said, according to reports from ABC News.
"And that continuing combined conduct is the circumstances that created the acts likely to cause harm, the circumstances that were dangerous to Mrs Dennis, but there is no criminal conduct in the prosecution charge and there's no criminal conduct with respect to those … two seconds when Mrs Dennis is holding onto the vehicle.”
Further detail about the circumstances surrounding Hoskins’ death also came to light during today’s court hearing. Dennis’ barrister, Jane Abbey KC, told the court that Dennis and Hoskins had been involved in a domestic dispute on the night of her death, regarding the installation of some kitchen cupboards.
“It was an argument, a disagreement, about the fact that further work needed to be done to cupboards which had been installed in what was a new kitchen," she said. “That's the sort of thing that husbands and wives disagree about all the time."
The events that then transpired out on the street seemingly unfolded very quickly.
“At the same time as [Hoskins] is reaching for the door handle the first time, Mr Dennis can be seen getting that [car] door closed again thinking 'this is confronting and what I know is I have to leave'," Abbey said.
"He thought that by putting his foot down, he was removing danger. That's of course, in the light of day, something that he realises was not a full picture and not a full thought.
"He put his foot down … And there's about a second, just over, in which it can be seen that [Hoskins] ran alongside the car.
"He describes to police hearing a noise. That noise it would seem was her jumping onto the car, or attempting to jump onto the car, and one can see that shortly after that noise, and allowing for some response time, the brake lights show.
“Certainly, in Mr Dennis's mind he did not know that she was still near the car, or indeed, on it.”
Hoskins was taken to hospital but died overnight as a result of her injuries.
Dennis is due to face court again in May where he will be sentenced. The maximum penalty for an aggravated charge of creating likelihood of harm is seven years' imprisonment plus a five-year loss of driver’s licence.
