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Police charges show one case doesn't fit all

Charges laid this week against drivers from separate tragic and sickening crashes in Victoria show that sometimes the police need to take different approaches.

On Sunday, a teenage girl riding a bike in Melbourne’s northern suburbs was critically injured in a hit-and-run that has received significant media coverage.

Witness accounts and CCTV footage helped identify the driver and the car she was driving and after a three-day man hunt the driver finally came forward.

A 41-year-old Sunshine West woman has now been charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, failing to stop after a serious injury collision, failing to render assistance after a serious injury collision and failing to exchange name and address or report a collision.

The teenage girl is still in hospital in an induced coma fighting for her life. Our thoughts are with her, her family and her friends at this incredibly difficult time.

As a result of a separate crash more than six months ago, a 33-year-old Delacombe man has now been charged with dangerous driving causing death.

Veteran touring cyclist Jim Freeman was riding with a fellow member of the Melbourne Cycling Touring Club at Devenish on 23 March.

The men were riding to meet a train at Benalla to travel back to Melbourne when the crash occurred on Benalla-Yarrawonga Road about 4.30pm.

The driver of the car stopped, tried to assist and co-operated with police.

Before laying charges police needed to conduct a thorough investigation to gather the necessary information, facts and evidence. This took time.

Both crashes have changed lives forever. They show that while sometimes charges can be laid quickly, other times it isn’t possible.

We’ll continue to monitor both cases closely as they progress through the justice system.