A young driver has avoided serving time in prison after being sentenced over the death of Samia Malik, a 20-year-old international student who was struck by a car while kneeling on a road in Adelaide’s north-east in May 2025.
Ashton Friend, 20, from Banksia Park, was sentenced in South Australia’s District Court after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. The fatal collision occurred on North East Road at Hillcrest at approximately 11 pm on 6 May 2025.
The court heard that CCTV footage showed Malik kneeling in the middle of the road for several minutes before the collision. During sentencing, Judge Anne Barnett noted that her hands appeared to be positioned in what looked like a prayer gesture. The court was not given an explanation for why she was on the road.
Friend was driving home from his girlfriend’s house when the collision occurred. His defence told the court that he had not seen Malik and initially did not realise he had struck a person. He believed the noise might have come from hitting an animal, partly because the damage to his vehicle was relatively minor.
The court also heard that Friend became aware of the incident after seeing news coverage in the days that followed. He later apologised to Malik’s family in court, expressing remorse for the loss of life and acknowledging responsibility for his actions and his failure to stop.
In an earlier hearing, the court heard that Friend had not been affected by alcohol or drugs and was not speeding at the time of the collision. The prosecution and defence had both submitted that a suspended sentence was an appropriate penalty in the circumstances.
Judge Barnett sentenced Friend to one year, three months and 29 days in prison, with a non-parole period of eight months. The prison term was suspended on the condition that he enter a two-year good behaviour bond, meaning he will not serve the sentence in prison unless the suspension is revoked.
Malik’s death has had a lasting impact on her family. Her sister, Qudsiya Malik, delivered a victim impact statement describing the family’s continuing grief and the absence left by the loss of a young woman who had her life ahead of her.
The case has drawn attention to the circumstances of the fatal collision and the court’s decision to suspend the custodial sentence. The court proceedings established the driver’s guilty pleas and sentencing outcome, but no explanation was provided for Malik’s actions on the road before the crash.
The death of Samia Malik remains a deeply painful loss for her family and loved ones.
