Source : Perth Now news
A teenager allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen car – who went on a rampage through a Northern Territory town – has died after the vehicle rolled on a major highway.
Police allege a car was stolen from a property on Zimin Drive in Katherine, about 320km southeast of Darwin, following a break-in at 10.30pm on Monday.
Police allege the occupants of the car travelled to Charles Darwin University and dumped the vehicle before stealing two more cars.
They further allege the occupants of the two vehicles taunted police and threw objects, including a hammer, at patrol cars while they drove erratically through Katherine’s CBD on Monday evening.
A police spokesman said officers did not engage in a pursuit because of the dangerous manner of driving.
About 6am on Tuesday, one of the stolen vehicles allegedly rolled on the Stuart Highway, just north of Katherine.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and took three 14-year-olds to hospital.
One teenager, 16, suffered critical injuries and died at the scene.
The NT News reports two more girls were later found near the crash scene and police believe more people may have been inside the car.
NT Police Acting Commander Mark Grieve said the incident was both tragic and complex.
“We are investigating a significant series of offences, as well as the death of a 16-year-old male following extremely dangerous driving behaviour that placed the lives of the community at risk,” he said.
“Our investigators will work to establish the full circumstances surrounding these events, and we continue to appeal to anyone with information to come forward.”
He told media police were not involved in any form of operational context in regard to the stolen vehicles.“The police car that was baited was actually parked up, they were attending to another incident and the offending vehicle was driving past and threw objects out the window,” he said.
“It’s a trend and one we’re probably starting to see more of, we’ve been seeing it for quite a bit of time, unfortunately youth engage in this type of behaviour and see it as a bit of a game.
“The youth space we’re dealing with is quite complex in nature, in the NT we’re trying to grapple with an increase in youth behaviours in the criminal space.
“It’s not only NT but Australia-wide and it’s not just a policing problem, it needs to be a whole community approach whether education, health or parental responsibility, it’s a big question to answer.”
The Stuart Highway was closed while police investigated the fatal crash.
Police urged anyone with information about the circumstances that led to the crash to contact police.
