NEWS Pike calls to tackle violence in public

OUTSPOKEN former NT Manufacturers Council chairman Owen Pike is calling for action to tackle anti-social behaviour after revealing he was the driver who ran over a pedestrian in Palmerston on Monday.

The incident occurred at about 7.30pm along Chung Wah Tce, near the intersection on Fairway Drive.

On 104.1 Territory FM with Mel Little, Mr Pike spoke about the NT Government’s artificial reefs project before opening up about the accident which he said “has been a massive drama for me”.

“I’ve just been given a blatant view of the issues relating to anti-social behaviour,” he said.

“On Monday night, I went to dinner at my mum’s place and went to the shops after. Leaving the Coles shopping centre, I went around the roundabout, drove back past along Chung Wah Tce and drunks were fighting and I didn’t have time to stop and I hit a (42-year-old) lady.”

The incident prompted NT Police on Tuesday to block off the area for several hours to investigate.

A Top End Health Service spokeswoman confirmed the woman was released from hospital yesterday.

Choking back tears, Mr Pike described to Little the emotional toll the accident had on him.

“I wasn’t over the limit, I’d OWEN PIKE had two drinks, I was way under the limit,” he said.

“I wasn’t speeding, the lady either ran straight out in front of me because people were fighting on the median strip or she was thrown on the road, I don’t know. The first thing I saw was her head hitting the windscreen so, it’s been absolutely shocking for me.”

Mr Pike told the NT News there was an urgent need to address anti-social behaviour in the Territory and for politicians to confront the issue.

“When you’re caught up in an actual event you realise it’s a real problem, not just political issues,” he said.

“To fix the problem in the short term, a hard line has to be taken and that’s what one political party wants to do, then the other political party wants generational change and that means a soft approach is taken in the short term. To be honest, it’s something all political parties have to come together on and both agendas have to be driven so the Northern Territory community can improve.”