Two women accused of murdering a police officer by running him down with an allegedly stolen car at a highway roadblock will face separate trials, a judge has ordered.

Skye Anne Wallis and Kari O’Brien were committed in May 2024 to stand trial after being charged with Senior Constable David Masters’ murder.

The 53-year-old officer died after allegedly being hit by the women’s car while deploying a tyre deflation device on the Bruce Highway at Burpengary, north of Brisbane, about 3am on June 26, 2021.

Justice Paul Smith on Friday ordered the defendants be tried separately following a hearing last week in Brisbane Supreme Court.

Wallis’ barrister Malcolm Harrison had applied for split trials on the basis it would be difficult for jurors to keep track of potentially conflicting evidence concerning each defendant.

Wallis would be the first to face trial, with two or three weeks of hearings scheduled to start in February 2027, crown prosecutor Dejana Kovac told Smith.

The Crown alleges the vehicle used to kill Masters was driven by 38-year-old Wallis, while 29-year-old O’Brien was a passenger.

The Crown has said Wallis is responsible for the death as she drove the car dangerously at or towards the officer or by acting with reckless indifference to human life.

Kovac previously told a magistrate that a jury could find O’Brien guilty of felony murder because she aided or encouraged the alleged dangerous driving by Wallis that was likely to endanger life and for the unlawful purpose of evading police.

Wallis is in custody on remand and O’Brien is on bail.

Wallis’ murder charge is due to return to court for a mention on May 28.

–AAP