Driver accused of hitting schoolboys skips bid for conditional freedom

Tayler Christian Hazell, 31, faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday, three days after being arrested.

He did not apply for bail after magistrate Jane Campbell read out his numerous driving offences, including dangerous driving, driving unlicensed, and not giving particulars to an injured person involved in a crash.

The Victorian man was also charged with two counts of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm in relation to the two teenage boys.

"I expect those will probably need to be amended," the magistrate said.

It's understood the charges could be reviewed and upgraded to reflect culpable driving, significantly increasing the maximum penalty.

He did not enter any pleas.

Hazell initially faced court on Saturday, when he was sent off for a mental health assessment on the recommendation of police.

In an expletive-laden outburst during that brief appearance, the accused driver said: "I haven't slept in four f---ing days."

Upon his return to court, nothing was said about the state of his mental health. Other than a few coughs in a remote witness room, the man sat silently on this occasion.

Ms Campbell revealed Hazell was charged in 2017 over an aggravated robbery, during which he allegedly stole more than $1000 from an ACT supermarket at knife-point.

The result of that matter is unclear.

Police allege Hazell stole the green Holden Commodore station wagon on the morning of March 28 from a Sutton childcare centre with an eight-year-old girl still inside it.

The 31-year-old is said to have released that child shortly after before driving into the ACT and hitting the two boys as they were crossing the road to get to class at St Edmund's College in Griffith.

He then allegedly sped for more than a kilometre, crashed the stolen car in Manuka, and tried to flee the scene.

Hazell was taken into custody following the incident when tradies working on a nearby hotel construction held him down for several minutes until police officers arrived.

Hazell, from Warrenheip in Victoria, was subject to interstate parole and bail conditions at the time.

The two teenagers, aged 14 and 15, were taken to hospital in a serious condition, with one treated in an operating theatre.

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Catholic Education Office said the boys were both in a stable condition and recovering with their families in intensive care.

Hazell is set to face court again in April.