Ryan Meuleman, the man at the centre of a notorious collision with former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews and his wife Catherine, has been charged over an alleged carjacking. The incident occurred in Pakenham, in Melbourne's south-east, at approximately 9:55 pm on May 3, while Meuleman was reportedly on bail.
Police allege Meuleman entered a woman's vehicle in a car park off Henry Road as she and her two young children were seated inside. Investigators claim he struggled with the woman before a Good Samaritan intervened and restrained him until police arrived. The woman and her children were not physically injured, and detectives have stated that she was not known to Meuleman.
Meuleman gained notoriety as 'Bike Boy' after suffering life-threatening injuries when he was struck by a vehicle carrying Mr Andrews and his wife in 2013. His father, Peter, expressed remorse, saying, 'There is no excuse for his son's alleged actions. The kid I knew and loved would never do this. I knew he was in a bad place but this is unthinkable. There is absolutely no excuse for what has happened and Ryan wouldn't be like this if he wasn't drug affected. If children were involved, I don't know what to say. Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable.'
Meuleman was charged with carjacking, vehicle theft, stating a false name, and breaching bail in the Dandenong Magistrates' Court on May 4. He was denied bail and will return to court at a later date.
In 2013, Meuleman, then aged 15, was riding his bike on the footpath at Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula when he was hit by the Andrews family's Ford Territory. He sustained life-threatening injuries including a punctured lung, broken ribs, and severe internal injuries, later losing part of his spleen. Meuleman is currently suing Andrews for defamation in the Federal Court over public comments the former premier has made about the crash. A person familiar with the case told the Herald Sun that the new charges would not impact the defamation action. In court documents, Meuleman claimed Andrews' statements caused him 'substantial hurt, distress and embarrassment'. Andrews has denied the allegations and accused Meuleman of bringing the case to attract publicity rather than to vindicate his reputation or obtain compensation for injured feelings in a 27-page defence.
