Melissa Hoskins’ death: Police interview with Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis reveals new details

Melissa Hoskins’ death rocked Australia’s cycling community and landed Rohan Dennis in the courts. Photo / Supplied

A police interview with Rohan Dennis has revealed what happened in the tragic seconds before champion cyclist Melissa Hoskins’ death.

Champion cyclist Melissa Hoskins was alive and struggling to breathe after she tripped and fell under the vehicle driven by her husband Rohan Dennis, with neighbours frantically calling for emergency help after the accident, a police interview has revealed.

Recorded just hours after her death, the interview between police investigators and Dennis at the Adelaide City Watch House delivers fresh insight into the tragic events that preceded Hoskins’ death, which rocked Australia’s cycling community and landed Dennis in the courts.

A blow-up over a kitchen renovation sparked the collapse into tragedy, with the domestic argument spilling from the home and into the street on the night of December 30, 2023.

Dennis left to try to get away from the exchange, taking the family’s Volkswagen Amarok from the garage and driving off into the night.

But Hoskins did not want him to leave and in tragic scenes, she jumped on to the bonnet of the car as Dennis drove down Medindie Lane, behind their home, going at about 20km/h.

When Dennis pulled into Avenel Gardens Rd, Hoskins dismounted the bonnet and grabbed at the driver’s side door.

As Dennis accelerated away from the intersection, Hoskins held on to the driver’s side door handle, the prosecution’s factual summary, tendered to the court and seen by NewsWire, states.

She tripped and was dragged under the vehicle as Dennis drove down Avenel Gardens Rd.

When Dennis heard a “thump”, he stopped the car and ran to help her.

Dennis said his wife was still alive and struggling to breathe after the accident.

“I rolled her on to her side ‘cause she seemed to be choking on something and I thought it might have been blood, and it was,” Dennis said.

Rohan Dennis is not being held responsible for Melissa Hoskins’ death. Photo / Instagram

“And then they gave – the neighbours they just gave me sort of a, a rug to sort of hold her head.

“I was holding that to try and stop any sort of bleeding. And just talking to her the whole time to try keep her awake.”

Dennis told investigators Hoskins was unable to speak and could only nod.

“She was just moaning, like grunting with the pain, and I was saying, ‘can you feel your legs, are you okay?’ and just make sure she’s … like ‘just nod’, you know,” he said.

“And she was nodding as a yes … so I was thinking, ‘okay, she’s probably … like I knew she’d hit her head but she’s probably, really when I pulled her it felt like she potentially broke some ribs or something, and like … this was bloody hoping it’s the worst thing.

“And that’s why the blood was coming up but … that’s why I was thinking maybe that’s why she was struggling to talk.”

Hoskins later died at Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Dennis is not being held responsible for Hoskins’ death.

The tragic incident unfolded in seconds.

CCTV footage recorded Hoskins on the bonnet of the car for about six seconds.

The time between Hoskins dismounting the vehicle and Dennis closing the driver’s side door and accelerating away from her was three seconds, the factual summary states, and the time between Dennis closing the door and Hoskins falling under the wheel was about two seconds.

The blow-up happened about 7.45pm as Dennis started washing the dishes after dinner, though the argument had started earlier in the day.

“We were having an argument about, it was quite early on today, about the renovation that we’ve had in our house,” Dennis said.

“It’s three years ago now and we’re not really happy with some of the stuff and I couldn’t quite let it go.

“And then once the kids were down, had dinner, so the tensions boiled over again and we were yelling at each other, and I was like, ‘I’m out’, as in like, I’m just gonna leave the house.”

There was no physical violence in the argument.

“I thought it’s just easier, I’ll grab the car and … f***ing just go,” Dennis said.

“Ten, 20 minutes. Come back.”

The interview concluded at 1.23am.

Dennis, 34, has pleaded guilty to driving recklessly before her death and acting in a way likely to cause harm.

The Hoskins family faced Dennis at Adelaide District Court on Monday, where he sat in the dock as they delivered their victim impact statements.

Hoskins’ father Peter broke down when he spoke about the impact the tragic event would have on the couple’s two children, who he called the family’s “silent grievers”.

“The silent grievers too young to realise the present and future impact of their mother’s loss on their lives,” he said.

Peter said when the police delivered the news of Hoskins’ death, he was unable to process the development and was overwhelmed with “disbelief, anger and confusion”.

He said night-time continued to be a struggle, and he would regularly wake up and think about his beloved daughter and the “fragility of life”.

Sister Jessica said she continued to have nightmares about the event and would sometimes wake up in the night and see the faces of the policeman who had informed her of the news.

“It’s not something that will ever pass,” she said.

“I will live with this every single day while I’m alive.”

She also said the family had not received an apology from Dennis for his actions.

“No remorse has been shown,” she said.

Peter said an “apology and some sort of explanation” from Dennis would help his family with their grieving process.

Hoskins’ mother Amanda said she believed the event was a “tragic accident”.

“I know that you would never intentionally hurt her,” she said.

Jane Abbey, KC, for Dennis, said her client did not know Melissa was “near the car or on it”.

She added Dennis was “in love” with Hoskins at the time of her death.

“He loved her as his best friend, as his partner and as the mother to his children,” she said.

Judge Ian Press will sentence Dennis on May 14.

The maximum penalty for the offence is seven years’ jail.

The athlete’s change of fortune has been swift and shocking.

Just three years ago, he stood on a podium in Tokyo and celebrated his place in sporting history as an individual Olympic medallist.

He first achieved fame at the 2012 London Olympics, nabbing a silver medal in the 4000m team pursuit on the cycling track.

At Brazil in 2016, he finished in fifth place in the individual time trial, but perhaps his crowning achievement was his bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics on July 28, 2021.

In memorable scenes at the Fuji International Speedway, he clinched the medal with a time of 56:08.09.

He and Hoskins became engaged in 2017.

She had competed in the London and Rio Olympics in track cycling, only just missing out on a medal in London after finishing fourth in the 3000m team pursuit category.

In Rio, she finished fifth in the 4000m team pursuit.

The couple got married in 2018 and settled into a home in up-market Medindie in Adelaide’s inner north.