Adelaide driver avoids prison over student killed on road
International student Samia Malik was killed by a car in Adelaide after kneeling in the middle of a road, apparently praying. The driver, Ashton Friend, avoided immediate imprisonment after admitting he caused her death through careless driving and left the scene; the case has drawn attention to his failure to stop and the grief experienced by Malik’s family.
The court heard Malik had been on the road for about four minutes before she was struck at around 11pm on 6 May 2025. Friend, who was not speeding or under the influence, said he initially thought he had hit an animal and later learnt of Malik’s death through news reports; police identified him a week after the crash. Judge Anne Barnett imposed a suspended sentence of one year, three months and 29 days, including an eight-month non-parole period, and required him to maintain good behaviour for two years.
- Samia Malik was killed on an Adelaide road in May 2025.
- Ashton Friend admitted careless driving and leaving the scene.
- He received a suspended sentence and a two-year good behaviour bond.
New here? Start with this
An international student, Samia Malik, was killed in Adelaide when she was struck by a car whilst kneeling in the middle of a road in May 2025. The driver, Ashton Friend, admitted to causing her death through careless driving and to leaving the scene without stopping.
Malik had been on the road for approximately four minutes before she was struck at around 11pm. Friend was not speeding and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He believed he had hit an animal and only learnt of her death through news coverage; police identified him about a week after the incident.
A court has sentenced Friend to a suspended sentence of one year, three months and 29 days, with an eight-month non-parole period, and he must maintain good behaviour for two years. The case has drawn attention to the driver's failure to stop and the grief of Malik's family.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A person has lost her life due to the driver's careless conduct, and he compounded this by fleeing the scene without assisting. Causing a fatality through negligent driving—and failing to stop—should incur custodial imprisonment regardless of whether aggravating factors like intoxication or speeding were absent. The suspended sentence, without immediate prison time, appears inadequate to reflect the gravity of the loss and deliver justice to a grieving family who have lost their daughter.
The case against
The sentence appropriately reflects the specific circumstances of this tragedy. The victim's choice to kneel in the middle of a road at night for several minutes created extreme danger independent of the driver's conduct, and the driver was driving normally—neither intoxicated nor speeding—with his initial misidentification suggesting visibility and impact conditions. The suspended sentence, coupled with a conviction, monitoring requirements, and a behaviour order, still constitutes meaningful punishment whilst recognising the victim's own highly dangerous actions materially contributed to the outcome.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “International student is killed on Australian street after kneeling in the middle of the road to ‘pray’”.