Woman Killed While Praying in the Middle of the Road

A 20-year-old driver has escaped a prison sentence after a hit-and-run in Adelaide killed a woman who had been kneeling in the centre of the road in what appeared to be a moment of prayer.

Ashton Friend pleaded guilty to causing death by careless use of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident. He struck international student Samia Malik on North East Road in Hillcrest, Adelaide, at about 11pm on May 6, 2025.

The South Australian District Court previously heard that Malik had been kneeling on the road for about four minutes before Friend’s vehicle hit her.

Judge Anne Barnett said CCTV footage appeared to show Malik holding her hands in a “praying motion” shortly before she was fatally struck.

Friend had been driving home from his girlfriend’s house when the collision occurred. The court was told he was confused about what he had hit and failed to stop at the scene.

Defence barrister Jane Abbey KC told the court in September that Friend had not realised there was a person on the road and only heard a noise.

He believed it might have been an animal or another object, she said.

Ms Abbey also said the limited damage to Friend’s car contributed to his belief that he had not hit a person.

Although Friend checked his rear-view mirror, he did not see Malik and should have done so, the court heard.

His barrister said he initially did not understand that he had struck a person.

Friend later realised the likely truth after seeing news reports about Malik’s death, leaving him in what the court described as a “state of paralysis”.

Police identified and arrested him a week after the fatal crash.

“He just could not reconcile what he had done,” Ms Abbey said.

The court heard Friend had not consumed drugs or alcohol and was travelling within the speed limit when he hit Malik.

In an apology delivered to Malik’s family, Friend said he could only imagine the “indescribable pain” they were experiencing.

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“I will have to carry my failures with me for as long as I live,” he said.

“I am deeply sorry for the life that was lost, and for the grief and trauma caused to Samia’s family and loved ones.”

‘There is no excuse for my actions, or my failure to act – and I should have acted. I do not place responsibility on anyone else; it is mine alone.

‘I take full responsibility for my actions and their consequences. I stand before this court with genuine remorse and a commitment to reflect on, learn from and be accountable for what I have done.’

In a victim impact statement read aloud by prosecutor Frank Niemann, Malik’s sister Qudisya Malik told told the court that grief had become a part of her everyday life.

‘There are moments where the pain feels just as fresh as it did on the day we lost her’, the statement said.

‘Every important milestone reminds us that someone deeply loved is missing. There is always an empty place where Samia should have been.

‘Nothing can ever replace Samia. We have lost a daughter, a sister, a friend and a remarkable young woman who had so much life ahead of her. 

‘Samia will always remain part of our family. She may no longer be physically with us, but she continues to live on in our hearts.’

Niemann noted that other drivers had swerved around Malik in the lead up to her death.

It was also submitted that a police car travelling some distance behind Friend had the time to stop and pull over without hitting Malik. 

Niemann also emphasised that Friend had not turned himself in to police despite realising he had been the driver that killed Malik. Instead, it took some ‘impressive police work’ to track him down. 

Judge Barnett served Friend a suspended sentence of one year, three months and 29 days with a non-parole period of eight months, with a bond to be of good behaviour for two years.

There has never been a full explanation for why Malik was on the road the night she was killed.