by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A 24-year-old man is facing upgraded charges after a three-year-old girl was fatally injured when allegedly struck by a car in Endeavour Hills.
Kamal Ghali, of Endeavour Hills, briefly appeared at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 23 October where he was charged with dangerous driving causing the death of Amelia Wang.
This was on top of a police charge last week of dangerous driving causing serious injury.
Amelia, also known as ‘Mila’, was critically injured when struck at a signalised pedestrian crossing on Heatherton Road, near the corner of James Cook Drive about 8.30am on Thursday 17 October, according to police.
The next day, Victoria Police announced that Mila died at hospital.
A defence lawyer told the court that Ghali wished to express his “deepest condolences” to the girl’s family.
He also said that the road section was “notoriously dangerous”, adding that there had been two recent pedestrian fatalities nearby.
The defence was seeking the release of a study into the crossing’s traffic signals. The Department of Transport and Planning as well as Casey Council were attending to the issue of the road’s safety, the lawyer said.
Ghali was bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 25 March 2025.
His varied bail bans him from leaving Victoria without the written approval of the police informant.
