A 14-year-old boy accused of being responsible for killing his passenger in a Barton Highway crash was on a "joyride" in an allegedly stolen car, a court has heard.
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"I'm going to jail, I've just killed my mate," a witness who attended the Wednesday night crash scene heard a juvenile say words to the effect of.
It is not clear if the words were spoken by the alleged offender, who cannot be named due to his age.
A 19-year-old passenger was killed in the collision, with two other 14-year-old passengers injured.
The crash involved an allegedly stolen Toyota Avalon said to have been driven through a red light on the Barton Highway, travelling from Clarrie Hermes Drive to Kuringa Drive, and colliding with a Toyota Hilux.
The alleged offender was not injured and the Toyota Hilux passengers received treatment but were "otherwise unscathed".
The minor faced the ACT Children's Court on Thursday afternoon, charged with culpable driving causing death and driving a stolen motor vehicle.
He is yet to enter pleas to the charges and his bail application, opposed by prosecutors, is set to be heard again on Friday pending whether appropriate housing can be found for him.
"Placing a young person into custody should be the last resort," magistrate Glenn Theakston said.
The current medical condition of the other two 14-year-old boys, both taken to hospital, is unknown but prosecutor Marcus Dyason told the court there were "potentially two" deaths as a result of the crash.
Tendered documents, which detail the allegations against the teenager, state one of the 14-year-old passengers was treated by paramedics after "suffering from life-threatening head and chest injuries".
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As at the time the court documents were written, that 14-year-old passenger was in a "critical and unstable condition".
Mr Stewart had to be extricated from the Toyota Avalon, which "suffered catastrophic damage", and was treated for injuries to his head and chest.
The 19-year-old was taken to hospital for urgent treatment and surgery but was pronounced dead at 2am on Thursday.
When the alleged offender first spoke to police shortly before midnight, documents state he made a "spontaneous utterance to police that he was the driver of the vehicle and had been drinking alcohol earlier in the night".
About an hour later, the minor was tested for alcohol and drugs but returned negative results before being arrested.
Police have reported the crash marked the year's first fatality on ACT roads.
The alleged offender is set to return to court on Friday.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have dash cam footage relating to the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website, quoting reference 7649756.
Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
