‘Hit and run’ driver, 50, is charged with killing newlywed, 27, and her best friend after allegedly running a red light in horror head-on crash
- Shane Bradley Pearce, 50, has been charged over the killing of two friends
- He allegedly ran a red light and smashed into a Nissan Micra on Friday night
- The crash killed Lauren Prothero, 27, and her newlywed best friend Paige Ward
- Police say Pearce ran from the crash before he was arrested in the south of Perth
- He did not apply for bail and will remain in custody until his next court date
A driver has been charged over a fatal hit and run crash that killed a newlywed and her best friend.
Police allege Shane Bradley Pearce, 50, was driving a Landcruiser in Cooloongup, south Perth, when he ran a red light and ploughed into a Nissan Micra on Friday night.
The 27-year old Nissan driver, Lauren Prothero, died at Rockingham Hospital and her newlywed best friend, Paige Ward, died at the crash scene, ABC News reported.
Shane Bradley Pearce, 50, has been charged with killing Paige Ward (left) and Lauren Prothero (right) after he allegedly ran a red light and collided with their Nissan Micra on Friday
Police said the two men in the Landcruiser (pictured) fled the scene without attempting to render assistance and Pearce was arrested after he was found in a nearby McDonald’s
Pearce (pictured) appeared in the Northbridge Magistrates Court on Monday morning
Police also allege two men left the Landcruiser without offering assistance and Pearce was later arrested at a nearby McDonald’s.
The 50-year-old has been charged with two counts of manslaughter, driving without a licence, failing to render assistance and not reporting an incident occasioning death.
He appeared in the Northbridge Magistrates Court on Monday morning and did not apply for bail.
Mr Pearce only spoke to acknowledge he understood the five charges that were read out to him.
He will remain in custody and is set to appear at the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on June 21.
Ms Ward’s devastated father visited the horrific crash scene on Sunday and paid tribute to his daughter.
‘I just couldn’t get over how such a brilliant person could be taken away from us,’ he told The West Australian.
‘She had a brilliant future. In her work she was senior physio down here at the hospital and she had a wonderful boyfriend.
Ms Prothero’s father said she had a wonderful boyfriend and a ‘brilliant’ future ahead
Ms Prothero worked as a senior physiotherapist at a Perth hospital
Lauren Prothero and Paige Ward are pictured together with friends before Ms Ward’s January wedding
‘They were just about to get together and live together. He’s a smashing guy, so what a future they had together – that’s been taken away from us and I just don’t know how it could happen. It’s just surreal.’
The two women were long-time friends who had attended Kolbe Catholic College in Rockingham.
Ms Ward had recently tied the knot with her partner Jacob Dodds in January.
The two were just 800 metres from Ms Ward’s home at the time of the crash.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has dashcam footage is asked to contact police.
Ms Ward was a newlywed who recently tied the knot with her partner Jacob Dodds
Ms Ward was just 800 meters away from her home at the time of the tragic crash