Woman, 84, charged with hit-and-run that killed schoolboy

Police have charged an 84-year-old woman over a hit-and-run that killed a six-year-old boy walking to a school bus stop in a Victorian country town, eight months after the collision.

Caleb Wesley died on March 27, after he was hit by a car on Bannockburn-Shelford Road in the hamlet of Teesdale, about 30 kilometres west of Geelong.

He was with two older siblings, aged nine and 12, who were crossing the road on their way to school.

Police interviewed the alleged driver, a Teesdale woman, in March after they found a vehicle, an early model Nissan Pulsar, allegedly involved in the crash at her house. She was released pending further investigation.

On Tuesday, the woman was charged with failing to stop, failing to render assistance and failing to report a collision.

The 84-year-old has been bailed to face court in Geelong this Friday.

In March, the principal of Covenant College, where Caleb went to school, remembered him as an “inquisitive, friendly, empathetic, and well-loved” boy.

“He was a curious, interesting, wonderful little boy,” principal Joshua McEwen said.

Two passers-by – one of them a nurse – tried to save Caleb before emergency crews arrived.

Witnesses wrote down a number plate when the alleged driver initially stopped, which later helped police track down a car.

Following Caleb’s death, the local council, Golden Plains Shire, commissioned a plan to improve road signage through Teesdale and an audit of bus stops.

The council has also applied for funding through the TAC Local Government Grant Program to prepare a dedicated Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan for the shire.

There have been 261 lives lost on Victorian roads in 2025, four above the same time last year. This includes five road deaths in the past four days.

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