Woman Accused of Trying to Run Over Her Partner Because He Ate One of Her Fries

A woman in Australia is accused of trying to run over her male partner Sunday after he ate one of her french fries. An argument then broke out between Matthew Finn and Charlotte Harrison, and she asked him to leave their Subaru, which was on north Adelaide's Melbourne Street on Sunday afternoon, Finn told the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday. Later that afternoon, Finn was walking on Melbourne Street when Harrison crashed into oncoming cars and a power box while chasing him, Finn testified. Harrison faces charges of aggravated endangering life and driving in a reckless or dangerous manner. Here's what you need to know about this peculiar case.

The Facts in Court

Finn said the incident began when he asked for a french fry, called a "chip" in Australia, and took one from Harrison's chicken and chips meal, according to court testimony. Harrison was in court for a bail hearing. Police provided a description of closed-circuit television or CCTV footage of the incident to the court.

He Has Regrets

"I thought she was finished," Finn later told a local news station. "Yeah, I shouldn't have asked for that chip." "I had a chip, and she'd pulled over and asked me to get out," he added.

A History of Violence?

Harrison accused Finn of assaulting her previously, her lawyer told the court. The lawyer added that Finn was a drug user and had been in prison. Harrison fired her first lawyer and represented herself briefly before taking on her second lawyer, called a "duty solicitor" in Australia, a position comparable to a public defender in the U.S. Harrison's lawyer argued that she should be granted bail because she complied with police and remained at the scene of the incident.

Harrison's Story

Harrison denied that she tried to run Finn down. She was helping Finn on Sunday because he called her and said he was ill, her lawyer told the court. On their way to a hospital, Finn assaulted her and made her stop to get out of the car, according to court testimony. Harrison accidentally hit the accelerator while trying to execute a U-turn on her way to a police station to make a report, the Adelaide Advertiser reports. "She has seen him run off, she has attempted to do a U-turn to go to the Norwood Police Station," her lawyer told the court. "She has, by mistake, stepped on the accelerator rather than the brake and then hit the pole as described in the CCTV footage. It's accepted that on viewing the CCTV footage that it might look like there was an attempt to endanger the complainant's life."

What's Next

Magistrate Ben Sale said he worried that Harrison is a flight risk and found the CCTV footage description concerning. Sale considered releasing Harrison to home detention, pending a court report. Another bail hearing was set for Friday.