Hit-and-run accused appears in court

A man charged with using a car as a weapon appeared in Whanganui District Court on Monday.

The 61-year-old faces a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievious bodily harm.

The charge follows an incident outside Whanganui's Red Lion Inn at about 2.25am on Saturday morning which saw Jesse Minnell hit by a car and left lying on Anzac Parade.

The driver of the car did not stop.

The 24-year-old Mr Minnell suffered serious head injuries and was taken to Whanganui Hospital, before being airlifted later on Saturday to Wellington Hospital where he was admitted to intensive care in a critical condition. The hospital reported on Sunday that he was now in a stable condition.

The 61-year-old man charged in relation to the incident also faces a charge of being an unlicensed driver who was driving while forbidden to do so.

His name was suppressed by the presiding Justice of the Peace.

He was remanded in custody and duty solicitor Anna Brosnahan said he would be applying for bail on Tuesday.

Mr Minnell's mother and father were both with him at Wellington Hospital yesterday, a friend of the mother said. Speaking at Mrs Minnell's home, the man said the parents had been joined by eight or nine of Mr Minnell's friends.

The man, who did not want to be named, said Mr Minnell was living and working in Palmerston North, and had returned to Whanganui at the weekend to see his mother, and gone out for a drink with friends.