Alleged hit and run driver granted bail at court

Jesse Davies, 30, was arrested on January 22 after he allegedly failed to give way at an intersection, collided with the victim on the drivers' side and sped off, while the victim was airlifted to hospital.

Magistrate Letizia Torres handed down her decision on bail on Thursday afternoon, revealing she believed compelling reasons for bail had been shown and the risks could be reduced to an acceptable level.

"His grandmother said the serious injury sustained by the victim has given him a fright and being in jail for the first time has no doubt been a wake up call," she said.

The Ballarat Magistrates' Court heard on Monday the 86-year-old crash victim remained in hospital in Ballarat recovering from his injures.

His car was pushed off the road during the collision at the intersection of Longley Street and Leopold Street.

Police informant Detective Senior Constable Moore said a toxicology report found Davies had drugs in his system at the time of the collision.

"The alleged offending is very serious and the prosecution case is a strong one in that there is no dispute he caused the collision and left the scene," Ms Torres said.

"If found guilty the charges put him in range for a jail term but I accept another sentence may also be available."

Ms Torres said she took into account Davies was not on bail or any other court order at the time of the alleged offending and had a limited criminal history.

Davies has support from his grandmother who gave evidence to the court he could live with her on bail and she would drive him to appointments.

He also has the support of the Court Integrated Services Program which said Davies had a high level of motivation to engage in drug treatment.

Ms Torres said she also took into account Davies' severe eczema and multiple sclerosis that made his time in custody more difficult.

Davies let out a deep sigh when Ms Torres announced her decision to grant bail and lent back in his chair, appearing via video link from the police cells.

Defence barrister Natasha Freijah told the court on Monday the plan was to secure Davies a bed in a residential drug rehabilitation facility when one became available.

Davies will be required to report to the police station twice a week while on bail and will return to court in May for a committal mention.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.