The driver accused of ploughing into pedestrians in central Melbourne has been charged with murder after one of the victims died in hospital.
Northcote grandfather Antonios (Anton) Crocaris, 83, died about 11.30pm on Friday, eight days after he and 17 other pedestrians were hit by a car that ran into the crowded crossing at the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth streets on 21 December.
In a statement released on Saturday, Crocaris’s family said he was “our hero” and “simply irreplaceable”, saying “we will never fully recover from this loss.”
“Our father Anton had his life cruelly taken away in a senseless act of violence,” they wrote. “These circumstances are devastating to our family.”
Crocaris was one of 20 people, including the accused driver and an off-duty police officer who arrested him, admitted to hospital after the incident.
Only one person has died. Three remain in hospital.
The accused driver, 32-year-old Saeed Noori, had already been charged with 18 counts of attempted murder and one count of conduct endangering life. One of those counts has been upgraded. The additional charge was filed on Tuesday afternoon at Melbourne magistrates court.
His lawyers have said they will explore whether his history of mental illness makes him unfit to stand trial.
At a court appearance on Friday, magistrate John Hardy urged Noori to continue taking his psychiatric medication.
Police have said they will include CCTV of the incident as part of their brief of evidence.
The police summary tendered in court said: “It’s alleged the accused deliberately drove a motor vehicle into pedestrians crossing the road at the intersection of Flinders Street and Elizabeth Street in the Melbourne CBD, with the intention of killing or causing really serious injury to as many people as possible.”
Six people died and dozens were injured in January when 27-year-old Dimitrious Gargasoulas allegedly drove through Bourke Street Mall. Gargasoulas has pleaded not guilty and is set to return to court in March.
