The family of a notorious teen offender killed in a horror crash in an allegedly stolen ute over the weekend has remembered him as a 'precious' and 'beautiful young man'. Conroy, 14, died after the vehicle smashed into a tree on the Calder Highway at Woosang, 240km north-west of Melbourne, on Saturday morning.
Incident Details
Police allege the ute was stolen from a hotel in Mildura on Friday night before being involved in a fuel drive-off seven hours later. Shocking footage emerged of the group of teens hanging out of the windows of the swerving car moments before it hit a tree. Their bodies were almost entirely outside the ute as friends filmed the stunt.
Conroy's cousins, Dougie, 18, who was driving, and Deandre, 14, are both fighting for life after being cut from the ute and airlifted to hospital. One of the boys is in a coma with a brain bleed and broken bones and is on a breathing tube.
Family Tributes
Conroy's mother told 7News she does not want her son's death to be in vain. 'Yeah they made the wrong choice, but people shouldn't go judging them,' Aunty Maryanne Frost said. In tributes online, family members described him as a 'beautiful soul' who loved helping look after their children and putting smiles on people's faces.
'I told you the only person in Mildura I had was you Conroy. I told you my babies had no one but you... I told you that no matter what I love you unconditionally. I told you I'll hold you through thick and thin,' one woman said. She later added: 'He was everything to me and my kids.'
Police Investigation
Detective Sergeant Pendrick said detectives were trying to determine how fast the allegedly stolen car had been travelling. 'There was certainly a high impact with the tree, there's no doubt about that,' he said. 'We look at everything. We'll look at speed, we'll look at the road condition, we will look at the manner of driving.'
Reflecting on the tragedy, the detective said crashes like this were a reminder for young people to 'know there are consequences for their actions'. 'When you look at incidents like this that are totally devastating, you just plead with those kids that they're not playing games, there are real consequences,' he said.
Political Reactions
Shadow police minister Brad Battin criticised Jacinta Allan's Labor government hours after the crash, saying similar incidents were preventable if it took a tougher approach to youth crime. 'We need to fix the justice system,' he told the Herald Sun. 'Releasing young offenders for stealing cars and having unlimited bail not only leaves the community less safe, but we will see more young people die.'
An Allan government spokesperson hit back, accusing the opposition of using the tragedy to score political points. 'Our thoughts are with the young people's loved ones as they deal with the loss and injury caused by this senseless act,' he said. 'Politicising a teenager's death says everything you need to know about Jess Wilson, whose first instinct is to send out her conspiracy theory-peddling shadow.'
The spokesperson added: 'There are no easy solutions to youth crime, but community safety comes first, which is why we've introduced Adult Time for Violent Crime to deliver serious consequences for repeat offenders.' The new reforms mean children aged 14 and over now face the adult court system and can receive the same sentences as adults, including life imprisonment in certain cases.
