A mum who mowed down a 12-year-old girl on a pedestrian crossing told a court she initially thought she had run over a ‘musical instrument’. 

Alexis Lloyd was hit by a car at a pedestrian crossing outside Willetton Senior High School in Perth about 8.30am on June 26, 2023.

The schoolgirl, who was in Year 7 at the time, suffered a broken leg and collarbone, and spent weeks in a wheelchair recovering from surgery. 

Two years later, Tahira Shaheen, 52, was sentenced to jail for a total of 16 months with eligibility for parole after eight months.

The District Court of WA heard the learner driver was taking her son to school when she hit the schoolgirl.

She had been driving unsupervised and was not displaying her L plates at the time.

‘I didn’t tell anyone. I was embarrassed because my child goes to Willetton Senior High School,’ she told the court, as reported by 9News. 

The court heard Shaheen’s son came home and said a student had been hit by a car. 

‘You claim it was embarrassment that stopped you doing either of those things, but in circumstances where you didn’t have a driver’s licence… the only rational conclusion is that you knew you would be in trouble,’ Judge Laura Christian said. 

‘Your failure to stop or call for assistance was callous – you had no idea whether that person you hit was dead or alive.’

Ms Lloyd’s family previously claimed Shaheen had used ‘stalling tactics’ by alleging an intellectual impairment to reduce her culpability.

But the court heard Shaheen had embarked on a master’s degree in psychology in her native Pakistan and had since completed a certificate III in aged care.

While facing the charges, the mother gained her full Australian driver’s licence. 

Outside court, Alexis’ mother, Tory Carter, said the 16-month jail sentence had provided relief for her family, adding: ‘This is what I was hoping for’. 

‘I was hoping for a couple of years, and not so much for her – I’m sure she’s a lovely lady – but this does need to send that clear message to everybody that you can’t do that,’ she said.

‘Today’s sentencing has brought justice finally for the callous hit-and-run of Alexis. We’re relieved that the court today finally recognised the seriousness of this crime.

‘We hope that the outcome sends a clear message that leaving the scene of a crime and failing to take responsibility is unacceptable.’