An 80-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to causing a crash that claimed the life of a four-year-old boy at a shopping centre.
Maureen Brew faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday, June 25, where she pleaded guilty to one charge of culpable driving causing death.
A backup charge of negligent driving causing death was formally withdrawn.
The boy, Osal Mayur Pokhrel, died after a crash at Mawson's Southlands Shopping Centre on January 18.
Father Prakash Pokhrel told The Canberra Times the family hoped the legal process would bring meaningful change and protect others in the future.
"Nothing can bring him back," Mr Pokhrel said.
The boy and his parents, Prakash and Chura, were part of a close-knit Bhutanese community in Canberra and Queanbeyan.
On the morning of the crash, the couple had taken their son to offer prayers at a temple before heading to the Mawson shops for groceries.
Brew was driving a blue car that hit the boy before continuing into a shopfront.
The boy was treated at the scene by bystanders and paramedics before being transported to hospital. He died a short time later.
The case has now been committed to the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing.
