Driver admits killing pedestrian at comic event

Driver admits killing pedestrian at comic event | Inner East Review | Melbourne, Victoria
Ad

Driver admits killing pedestrian at comic event

ByTara Cosoleto
UpdatedSeptember 29 2026 – 1:03pm, first published12:58pm
ByTara Cosoleto
UpdatedSeptember 29 2026 – 1:03pm, first published12:58pm
A man has admitted to driving into two pedestrians, killing one, at a comic and gaming expo. Photo: Joel Carrett/AS

A driver who ploughed through a group outside a popular comic convention has pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian. 

Awer Dau, 34, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday on a video link from prison as he entered pleas over the Supanova incident.

Dau was behind the wheel of the Toyota sedan that mounted the kerb outside the Melbourne Showgrounds event in Ascot Vale about 5pm on April 18.

Two pedestrians were struck near the popular fan convention event. (Joel Carrett/AS)

A 20-year-old man died at the scene while another man the same age was seriously injured after being struck by the car. 

A third young man was with the two men but managed to avoid the oncoming vehicle.

Dau was charged with offences including culpable driving causing death, negligently causing serious injury, possessing methamphetamine and failing to render assistance after an accident.

Dressed in a green cap and white long-sleeve shirt, he only spoke during Tuesday’s brief hearing to confirm his pleas of guilty to the charges.

He did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody to face a plea hearing at the Victorian County Court in February. 

The fatal collision happened outside the Supanova Comic Con and Gaming Event, a two-day fan convention hosted at the showgrounds.

Thousands of comic and gaming fans flock to the event every year, with the convention adding crowds of visitors to an already-busy area.

Among the 2026 expo’s headliners were Stranger Things cast member Jamie Campbell Bower and Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

More from National

Push to allow party members a vote for Greens leader

Middle East or money-wasters: inflation mud-fight grows

Australia urged to help free activist jailed in Vietnam

McDonald’s stop after violent car theft from hospital

‘Pretty hard’: Reserve Bank concedes rate hike will hurt some households

More house price falls on cards as rates squeeze buyers

Newsletters & Alerts

The Echidna

Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more.