Man charged in deadly highway rampage returns to custody from hospital

The aftermath of the violent Easter incident on the Sunshine Coast. Photo / Nine News

• Bradley Donald Towle, 41, faces more than a dozen charges after a deadly highway incident on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
• Towle allegedly crashed into a car, killing 22-year-old Jocelyn Grace Mollee, and fled while armed.
• He remains in custody, with the case returning to court on June 30.

The lawyer for a man accused of a deadly highway rampage that claimed the life of a 22-year-old woman has given an update on the “serious and tragic” case.

The suspect has been released from hospital, his lawyer has confirmed.

Bradley Donald Towle, 41, is facing more than a dozen serious charges after an alleged spree on highways near the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, on Easter Monday.

Police allege he was under the influence of drugs when he lost control of a red Porsche Macan at Palmview and crashed into the side of a Nissan Micra, killing 22-year-old passenger Jocelyn Grace Mollee.

Towle allegedly fled the scene of the crash while armed with a shotgun, shooting a 62-year-old man who stopped his vehicle to help and taking off in his car.

It is alleged the Tewantin, Noosa man then threatened a 16-year-old girl and her parents in another vehicle, but was soon arrested at about 12.50pm near Landsborough.

Body-worn camera footage released by police shows officers with weapons drawn ordering Towle to lie on the ground before arresting him. A loaded shotgun was allegedly found inside the stolen vehicle.

Towle has been charged with armed robbery, acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm, unlawful wounding, dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death and multiple weapons and drug offences.

Police said Towle was injured in the crash and he was initially in hospital under police guard following his arrest.

He remains in custody and did not appear when his case was briefly mentioned in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

There was no application for bail and his case is due back in court on June 30.

Speaking to reporters outside of court, Towle’s lawyer Ben Rynderman said he was limited in what he could say due to confidentiality.

“This is of course a very serious matter,” Rynderman said.

“It’s obviously very serious and tragic and it will be treated with the seriousness and the gravity that it is.”

Rynderman confirmed Towle had returned to the watch-house from hospital without needing further medical care.

“I imagine police will compile a comprehensive brief of evidence that will be very detailed and we will assess that brief on its merits,” he said.

Tributes have flowed for Mollee in the wake of the Bruce Highway crash.

The 22-year-old was a fourth-year chemical engineering student at the University of Queensland and was only days away from completing her degree.

Her mother, Amanda Chippendale, said she last spoke to her daughter on Easter Sunday morning.

“A happy Easter call, catch-up,” she told the Courier Mail.

“Jocey and I catch up every day or so on the phone or texting.”

“My heart is shattered. We’re broken into a million pieces.

“Gone but not forgotten, my baby girl.”