Two men charged following a hit-run crash in Melbourne that killed a road worker and seriously injured another are suspected to have burned their clothes after the incident, a court has been told.
Jason Ruscoe, 30, was allegedly driving at speed when he entered a 40km/h zone, hitting traffic controllers placing cones and signs on the road in Carrum Downs early on November 9.
Traffic worker Timmy Rakei, 44, was killed and his colleague Shaun Kilmartin, 39, suffered serious permanent leg injuries.
The Melbourne Magistrates Court was told that as Mr Ruscoe allegedly fled on foot, he called Ashley Luke Powell, 25, whom he considered a brother.
Mr Ruscoe said he had been in an accident and asked Mr Powell to collect him, which he did, Detective Acting Sergeant Phil Frith said in evidence to the court.
He told the court that Mr Powell then sped off, driving on the wrong side of the road as witnesses tried to stop them.
Officers later spotted Mr Powell’s black Hyundai and realised it was carrying the suspect from the fatal crash.
They activated their lights and moved their vehicle in front of Mr Powell’s Hyundai, but Mr Powell accelerated heavily towards them, “swerving at the last second” and narrowly missing the police car’s front passenger side, Sergeant Frith said.
Later that morning, two males suspected to be Mr Ruscoe and Mr Powell were seen in a park setting fire to a pile of clothing before driving off in black car.
Some clothes recovered allegedly matched items the pair wore earlier that day and would be forensically tested, Sergeant Frith said.
Mr Powell is charged with five offences, including assisting Mr Ruscoe to impede his apprehension knowing he’d committed a serious crime, driving while disqualified, reckless conduct endangering death and driving dangerously while being pursued by police.
He handed himself into police two days after the crash, while his Hyundai was found dumped in a carpark.
His bail hearing was told its interior was sprayed with a substance to allegedly prevent the recovery of DNA or fingerprints, Sergeant Frith said.
Mr Powell was on bail at the time of his arrest and had a considerable criminal driving history, including dangerous driving while being pursued by polxjmtzywice, Sergeant Frith told the court.
Police opposed Mr Powell’s release on bail, saying he posed a “significant risk” to the community.
He had also failed to comply with a community corrections order and had previously driven while being disqualified, the court was told.
“He has access to other vehicles and shown with his driving behaviour he is prepared to endanger the lives of police and other road users, if confronted, to escape custody,” Sergeant Frith said.
Daniel Powell told the court his grandson was “good hearted” and had done stupid things in cars.
“I know he’s worth saving,” he said.
“I think he deserves a chance.”
The bail hearing resumes on Tuesday.
Mr Ruscoe is due to appear in court in April and is charged with multiple offences, including culpable driving causing death.
