Learner Driver on Bail Faces Charges After Fatal Melbourne Comic Con Incident
A learner driver allegedly behind the wheel of a car that killed a man and seriously injured another outside Melbourne's Supanova Comic Con event once possessed immense potential, with a life story marked by both tragedy and promise. Awer Dau, also known as Dua, now faces serious legal consequences following Saturday's devastating incident in Ascot Vale.
Allegations of Dangerous Driving Result in Fatality
Police allege that on Saturday, Dau drove his vehicle onto the kerb outside the Ascot Vale event, striking three pedestrians. The collision resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man from Keysborough and left another 20-year-old man with significant lower body injuries. The grey Toyota is understood to have mounted the curb where the men were standing outside the Melbourne Showgrounds venue.
Dau, a 33-year-old resident of Yarraville, was on bail at the time of the incident. He has been charged with dangerous driving causing death and culpable driving. Following a brief appearance at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Sunday, Magistrate Jarrod Williams remanded him in custody until September.
A Troubled Past Revealed in Court Documents
Daily Mail reports reveal that Dau's difficult upbringing was previously detailed in the County Court of Victoria in 2020. Born in war-ravaged South Sudan in the early 1990s, Dau experienced violence and upheaval from his earliest years. At just three years old, he fled the Sudanese civil war with his mother and siblings, escaping across the border into Kenya where they endured six arduous years in a refugee camp.
His father remained behind in South Sudan to care for elderly relatives and has never been reunited with the family. Judge Rosemary Carlin was told that Dau had been exposed to serious violence and conflict during his early years in both South Sudan and the Kenyan refugee camp.
From Refugee to Promising Athlete in Australia
At age ten, Dau and his family were finally granted refugee status and flown to Australia, settling in Melbourne's western suburbs where an older brother had already established a new life. He attended local schools, completed most of Year 12, and later finished a two-year VCAL (Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning) program in automotive engineering that qualified him as a mechanic.
Dau demonstrated exceptional sporting ability, earning selection into the prestigious Victorian Institute of Sport and showing potential for a professional soccer career. However, crushing family pressures forced the promising young athlete to abandon the sport and seek employment.
Manual Labour and Family Responsibilities
For the next five years, Dau worked in various manual labour positions including at an abattoir, as a forklift driver in a cold storage warehouse, and later as a licensed security officer. Colleagues described him as self-motivated, productive, and responsible—a young man who still found time to play competitive soccer while helping support his mother and a younger brother who was studying.
The tight-knit family remained close, with Dau caring for his mother even when living outside the home. Tragedy struck in 2017 when the older brother who had first welcomed him to Australia died at just 48 years old.
Recent Challenges and Current Investigation
The court heard that in 2018, Dau was shot in the leg during a street fight and hospitalized for approximately 11 days. Despite these challenges, the judge noted that Dau enjoyed strong family support and expressed satisfaction that he could turn his life around if he continued addressing his mental health issues.
On Monday, stunned Supanova attendees continued expressing dismay over the tragic incident. Detectives revealed that Dau was an unlicensed learner driver who was 'very well known to police.' Witnesses reported seeing a car swerving across several lanes of traffic before mounting the footpath and striking the men just before 5pm on Saturday.
The vehicle continued along the footpath before the driver was apprehended by an off-duty police officer and another person in a citizen's arrest. Major Collision Investigation Unit Detective Inspector Craig McEvoy confirmed that police are investigating whether the incident was intentional, as well as whether speed, alcohol, or drugs were contributing factors.
