Man injured in 2013 collision admits carjacking and burglary charges
Ryan Meuleman, who was injured in a 2013 collision with a car driven by Dan Andrews’ wife, has pleaded guilty to carjacking, commercial burglary and theft. His lawyer told a Melbourne court that the crash was a turning point, after which Meuleman’s substance use and psychological distress worsened; police had cleared the Andrews family of wrongdoing.
Meuleman was 15 when the collision left him with a punctured lung, broken ribs and a ruptured spleen requiring surgery. The court heard he later moved from cannabis to methamphetamine, became homeless at 17 and accumulated earlier offences. In the latest alleged carjacking, a mother with two children in the car wrestled him for the gearstick at a Pakenham laundromat; her husband restrained him until police arrived.
- Meuleman pleaded guilty to carjacking, burglary and theft.
- His lawyer linked the start of worsening drug use to a 2013 crash.
- Police cleared Dan and Catherine Andrews over the collision.
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In 2013, Ryan Meuleman, then 15 years old, was injured in a car collision that left him with a punctured lung, broken ribs and a ruptured spleen requiring surgery. The other vehicle was driven by the wife of Dan Andrews, who was Victoria's Premier at the time. The Andrews family was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident.
Meuleman's legal team has argued that the collision marked a significant turning point in his life. In the years that followed, his substance use escalated from cannabis to methamphetamine, he became homeless at age 17, and he accumulated earlier criminal offences.
Meuleman now faces carjacking and burglary charges relating to a recent incident. His lawyer has presented the 2013 collision as relevant context for understanding his circumstances, connecting his current situation to the injury he sustained over a decade earlier.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Meuleman's trajectory from serious trauma to desperate crime suggests a young person whose life was derailed by psychological injury at a critical developmental stage. His lawyer's observation that the 2013 collision was a turning point—after which substance abuse and distress escalated—points to underlying vulnerability rather than inherent criminality. A justice system that recognises these connections can work towards genuine rehabilitation and prevention of reoffending cycles.
The case against
However serious Meuleman's personal struggles may be, he committed crimes that directly threatened real people. His attempt to carjack a vehicle whilst a mother and two children were inside represents violent criminal intent that could have resulted in genuine harm to innocents. Public safety and accountability for serious crimes cannot be subordinated to sympathy; the justice system must deliver consequences that protect communities and establish that violent offences carry serious repercussions.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Dan Andrews is blamed for ‘Bike Boy’ crash victim’s life of crime – as carjacker says he turned to meth after he was hit by the former Premier’s SUV”.