Teen driver in horrific Townsville accident revealed to be on bail
A 14-year-old boy who drove the vehicle of a stolen car that caused the deaths of four other teens was on bail at the time of the incident.
The vehicle was being driven on the wrong side of a Queensland road when it clipped a roundabout and rolled, killing four teenagers on board, police have said.
Lucius Baira-Hill, 13, Aaliyah Tappa Brown, 17, Rayveena Coolwell, 15, and Cayenne Nona, 14, died at the scene in Townsville on Monday morning.
Witnesses said the car was “doing at least 120km/h” before it hit the roundabout and flipped.
The car that was involved in the crash had been reported stolen earlier on the same morning.
Emergency crews were called to the corner of Duckworth Street and Bayswater Road at Garbutt just before 4.30 am after the car crashed into a light pole.
The 14-year-old driver was taken to Townsville Hospital in a stable condition after suffering minor injuries.
7News reports he was released on bail about two weeks prior on unrelated property offences and the teen has since been charged with dangerously operating a motor vehicle causing death.
The young teen has also been charged with two counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle and burglary, as well as a count of possessing dangerous drugs.
He did not apply for bail when he faced Townsville Children’s Court onTuesday morning.
People were spotted laying flowers and tributes where the incident occurred.
One sign wrote, “Fly high Luie”.
An anonymous witness, who claimed he saw the vehicle speeding moments before the crash, told the Townsville Bulletin that he was absolutely sure an accident was about to occur.
“They were doing at least 120km down Hodges Crescent and I said to my missus they’re going to kill someone, there were no police around, just these two cars and they just kept doing blocks,” he said.
Superintendent Glen Pointing said police had seen the car earlier that night.
“And there was another stolen vehicle getting around to Townsville last night, and there were some reports that those vehicles were getting around the streets driving dangerously,” he said.
Superintendent Pointing made it clear that at no time did they pursue the car or attempt to intercept it.
Debris was found across the road, and even a type had been found hundreds of metres away from the crash.
“Any event like this is a tragedy. We don’t like going to these incidents,” Superintendent Pointing said.
“As I said, it is a tragedy for the children involved, it is a tragedy for their families, and it is all so confronting to first responders, whether they be police, fire, ambulance. Everyone involved.”