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 headed back to prison with her newborn baby to join her.

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

The 22-year-old’s case faced delays in the Victorian County Koori Court while Judge Scott Johns questioned what options were available for her to give birth in jail, or have her child with her in custody.

Details of her pregnancy were suppressed by the court while her case was heard and Thursday’s sentence had been put off until after she gave birth in July.

Her baby daughter was in the courtroom as she was sentenced to a total two-and-a-half years behind bars after she pleaded guilty to driving and bail offences.

Alisha Fagan was sentenced this week over the fatal crash in Sunshine West in June 2022

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

Judge Johns said Fagan, a suspended learner driver, had an appalling driving record before the fatal smash and a history of driving at outrageous speeds.

She had been drinking and was speeding 28km/h over the speed limit in a residential street when she failed to give way at an intersection, ploughing 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 four African men she didn’t know were in the car with her, and that one of them had been the driver.

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

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He said Fagan had suffered a lot over the past 14 months but had grown and shown genuine remorse and her circumstances were deserving of leniency and mercy.

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

He said she struggled with anxiety and accepted the 76 days she spent in custody before being bailed last year were ‘terrifying and traumatic’.

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

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

The judge accepted that she had been under stress about what would happen with her child, and noted removal of children from Indigenous parents was an ongoing issue and trauma.

Melbourne grandfather Sedat Hassan, 69, (pictured) was killed in the horror crash

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

Fagan previously read a letter of apology 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 are not the same person,’ she said.

Fagan’s licence was also cancelled for two years. With time served, she’ll be eligible for parole later this year.

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Alisha Fagan (pictured) falsely blamed the fatal accident on four African males that she claimed had fled from the scene