Manhunt as two men who fled scene of fatal car crash identified
The young victims of a deadly crash crash have been identified, as police continue their search for two men who fled the scene.
Braydan Collier, 13, and Kaine Bell, 14, were killed after a silver Ford sedan slammed into a telegraph pole and a jacaranda tree in Ashcroft, western Sydney, at high speed on Monday, splitting the vehicle in two and throwing one of the young boys from the car.
Braydan had just celebrated his 13th birthday on Sunday, the day before he and his best mate would be killed in the horrifying crash.
The two men, one of whom was driving the car, abandoned the scene, prompting a major manhunt from police.
The men are claimed by police to be Nicholas Thew and Anthony Morris, according to report from The Daily Telegraph.
Graphic CCTV footage of the accident captured the moment two adult men, who, the publication reports “played surrogate big brother roles” in their lives, pulled themselves from the wreckage of the car, stepped over the boys’ bodies and fled the scene.
One of the men could be heard yelling to his fellow front seat passenger “I wanna go home” as they ran, leaving the teenagers behind, who died at the scene.
Nicholas Thew’s younger brother Dridyn told The Telegraph his family was horrified by the accident.
He said he and his mother had taken the young victims “under their wing”.
“Mum’s more worried about the two little boys, she tried to take them under her wing, she took Kaine and Braydan under her wing even though she struggles herself,” he said.
“They’re little ones I took under my wing to keep out of trouble, but I haven’t seen them for two days and look where they are now."
“My younger brother went around there and identified them. I’m heartbroken.”
NSW Police are investigating the crash and the events leading up to it as they hunt for the two men who ran from the wreck, with Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden saying the accident was “clearly avoidable”.
“We are looking for that driver to present themself so we can speak to him. We do not know what role, if any, he has played in the crash, but it is certainly an active line of investigation,” he said.
He urged the pair who fled the vehicle to come forward, warning: “we will find them”.
“They just need to present themselves to a police station, so we can engage with them and they can assist us with the inquiries and work out how this tragic situation unfolded,” Mr McFadden said.
Image credits: Nine News