Teens allegedly provoked police and tossed a hammer at a patrol car during a night of alleged stolen car hooning in an Outback town, which resulted in a fatal crash.
Early on Tuesday morning, a car rolled on a major Northern Territory highway, killing a 16-year-old boy and injuring five other teenagers.
According to authorities, the deadly collision happened after the passengers of the stolen car tried to agitate the officers by hurling a hammer and other items that damaged a patrol car at Katherine.
The 16-year-old was seriously hurt after the automobile rolled on the Stuart Highway north of the Katherine CBD at around six in the morning on Tuesday.
Despite paramedics’ best efforts to save him, he passed away at the site, according to authorities.
Three 14-year-olds with injuries—two boys and a girl—were brought to the hospital in stable condition.
Officers later used a drone to locate two additional females who were thought to have been in the car in the surrounding forest. They were also sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to NT police, two more automobiles were stolen after a car was taken from a Katherine property late on Monday and left at Charles Darwin University.
Acting Commander Mark Grieve (above) stated that just before a car rolled and killed an adolescent, multiple stolen vehicles were observed honking in Katherine.
The occupants of the stolen vehicles allegedly flung things, including a hammer, at police when they were seen driving erratically through the Katherine CBD (above).
Acting Commander Mark Grieve stated that the cars were seen driving erratically through the Katherine CBD throughout the evening.
“Due to the dangerous manner of driving, officers did not engage in a pursuit of the vehicle at any stage,” police stated. The occupants allegedly targeted parked police vehicles and flung objects, including a hammer that damaged one of the patrol cars.
Due to a significant collision and ongoing criminal investigations, portions of the Stuart Highway were closed on Tuesday morning.
“Certainly parental responsibility comes to the fore and socio-economic issues,” Acting Commander Grieve said to reporters in Darwin on Tuesday. “We are investigating a significant series of offences, as well as the death of a 16-year-old male following extremely dangerous driving behavior that placed the lives of the community at risk.”
He claimed that car theft and other criminal activity by young people was a national issue that required a community-wide strategy.
