Matthew Raymond Thomas Pitty, 19, and Simone Ann Harris, 41 - both of Osborne Avenue, West Bathurst - pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on March 27, 2024 to concealing a serious indictable offence.

Police documents before the court said Pitty was a passenger in a vehicle that struck a pedestrian at about 9.20pm on January 26, 2024 on Howick Street in Bathurst.

The victim, according to police, hit the front windscreen of the silver Toyota Aurion, causing it to crack, before he fell to the ground with serious head injuries.

The victim was later airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a serious condition.

The driver - Sean Pitty, 43, of Osborne Avenue, West Bathurst - has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm; failure to stop and assist; and driver not disclose identity of driver/passenger.

According to police, Matthew Pitty phoned Harris - who was on the Central Coast at the time - at about 10pm and told her what had happened.

Harris also spoke with the driver a number of times that night, including a 17-minute call at 9.48pm and again after speaking with Matthew Pitty, according to police.

Once Crash Investigation Unit investigators viewed CCTV footage of the crash, the driver was, according to police documents, arrested at his home on January 27 and taken to Bathurst Police Station.

Police said Harris did Google searches that morning about getting a windscreen fixed, and sent a number to the driver prior to his arrest.

Later that day, Harris told Matthew Pitty during one of their 16 calls that a media release regarding the crash and the victim's condition had been posted to a public Facebook page.

Harris then spoke with two other people about the crash before asking police for an update about the driver's status in custody.

Matthew Pitty was arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station at 9pm on January 27, where police said he later admitted to knowing about the crash, having been present at the time.

Harris went to Bathurst Police Station the following morning and was arrested.

During the interview with officers, she said she knew of the crash and that the victim, whom she claimed in open court to know, had been taken to hospital.

HEARTLESS and tragic were among the words used by Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis, who struggled to understand how "a decent human being" could have left another person on the side of the road after being hit.

Legal Aid solicitor Simone Thackray - who acted for Matthew Pitty and Harris - said they both knew about the crash, but couldn't say why they didn't alert emergency services at the time.

"Mr Pitty didn't know what to do or say ... he was worried about the person who had been hit," Ms Thackray said.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Cameron Ferrier submitted that while "I'm sure there's been some lessons learned", the pair interfered with the criminal justice system and had to be convicted.

Ms Ellis then questioned whether the victim's injuries would have been less severe had Pitty and Harris "had the courage" to come forward prior to police involvement.

"I find you both lacked compassion to help a fellow human in need ... You failed, and continued to fail every time," Ms Ellis said.

"You need to have a serious look through your conscience after acting in such a heartless way."

Pitty was placed on a community-based jail sentence for 12 months, while Harris was given a nine-month community-served jail order.

The victim remains in a critical condition.

Sean Pitty will be sentenced at Bathurst Local Court on May 9, 2024.