A drug-using nurse employed by the Royal Adelaide Hospital ran over a woman in her car before fleeing the scene, leaving the victim with a severe brain injury, a court has heard. The District Court is preparing to sentence Annette Susan La Roche, 38, who pleaded guilty on the first day of her trial to causing harm by dangerous driving and leaving an accident scene. The court heard La Roche had been in a “toxic relationship” with her boyfriend, involving illicit drug use, while she was employed as a nurse at the hospital. In July 2017, after the relationship had ended, the court heard La Roche went to her ex-boyfriend’s house in Smithfield, in Adelaide’s north, “to annoy him” and to collect money owed. It heard when a woman approached her car armed with a bat, La Roche ran her over and drove off, leaving the victim with a severe brain injury. Defence lawyer Andy Ey told the court his client was not expecting the victim to approach her car with a weapon. Mr Ey said La Roche had her niece and friends in the car with her at the time and when the victim approached they started screaming and “it all happened very quickly”. “My client’s window was down, she was concerned for her vehicle and her own safety,” he said. The court heard La Roche reversed before driving forward and driving over the victim. “She didn’t intend to hit the victim or harm her in any way,” Mr Ey said. “If she had her time again, she simply would have kept reversing, rather than making the decision in the heat of the moment to move forward and turn around.” After running the woman over, La Roche called in sick to work at the hospital and went to a friend’s house. She turned herself in at a police station the following day.
