DNA evidence shows driver was 'collected' from scene of crash which killed teen: police

Acting Sergeant Nathan Smorhun alleged the real driver was picked up from the scene of the crash on Adelaide Avenue in a second stolen car.

He said CCTV evidence from before and after the crash pointed to two other people who were inside the vehicle, one of whom was driving the stolen white Camry when it crashed about 4.55am on April 17.

The crash victim, a First Nations boy whose mother has alleged he was missing from state care in the days leading up to his death, was found next to the upturned Camry in the middle of the road.

He was in a critical condition when he was taken to the emergency department and he later died in hospital from injuries caused by the crash.

Acting Sgt Smorhun said DNA profiles from the second car, a black Genesis GV8 SUV, linked the driver of the Camry and one other person to the Genesis which was found partially burnt in Theodore the same day of the crash.

"That vehicle did stop and collect two people from the Camry believed to be the driver and another passenger that was in the Camry at the time," he said.

"I can also confirm that obviously the deceased was not the driver. The driver was taken away from the scene."

Police revealed the results of forensic testing almost three months after the fatal crash. Acting Sgt Smorhun said it had taken that long was because it was a complex job and AFP forensics was dealing with multiple investigations.

"This case is obviously at the higher end of the priority list," he said.

Investigators did not give details about the appearance of the two people or the driver who allegedly picked them up. Police have urged the three individuals to come forward.

"We've narrowed it down to a pool of suspects and we'll be actively trying to find them," Acting Sgt Smorhun said.

He said the sooner those involved were found the better answers police could give to answers to the family of the teenage boy.

"It releases a burden that's sitting on [the family's] shoulders," he added. "We have worked very closely with them in relation to the information that they have in relation to the deceased's friendship group at the time."

He also said police were still gathering information and the evidence would decide the charges laid in this case.

Detective Sergeant Jonathon Turkich from ACT Policing's Major Collision Team said they were closing in on the two people believed to have survived the April crash.

"The information gathered by our investigative team is leading us towards two particular suspects," he said.

"To those people, I would say now is the time to come forward and take responsibility for your involvement in this tragic incident.

"I understand it is difficult, it must be incredibly stressful to live in fear around your involvement in the death of someone you likely knew as a friend.

"But make no mistake, this will not be going away."

Police also said they asked anyone who had seen the Genesis SUV on the morning of 17 April, 2024 to contact Crime Stoppers.