Police Commissioner Grant Stevens speaks after son Charlie’s crash death, thanking South Australian community

It has been 27 devastating days since Charlie Stevens was killed at Schoolies – now his dad, the Police Commissioner, has a message for all South Australians. Watch it here.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has revealed more than $173,000 has been raised in son Charlie’s name in the wake of his death, fighting back tears as he extended his family’s heartfelt gratitude.

Mr Stevens addressed the media on Friday afternoon at the Oaklands Park skate park – one of Charlie’s “favourite spots” – to extend the family’s thanks for the support of the community.

“I think he probably spent more time here than he did at home,” he said.

Mr Stevens said the family had been overwhelmed by the flowers, generosity, kindness, company and support of others during the grieving process.

WATCH GRANT STEVENS’ ADDRESS

“That’s not just from family and friends, that’s from work colleagues, other people in the public sector and countless people that we’ve never met and probably never will meet,” he said.

Holding back tears, Mr Stevens extended an emotional thank you to the critical care team at Flinders Medical Centre, where Charlie was cared for until his life support was turned off.

“Not only did they look after Charlie over those couple of days but they also looked after us.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and his wife Emma at Oaklands Park skate park on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire

They were incredibly supportive to us, particularly the organ donation counsellor,” he said.

“I’d also like to mention on behalf of the family, the overwhelming impact the donations to Operation Flinders Foundation has had on honouring Charlie.

“Some beautiful messages have been left by people leaving those donations, I think at last count, with the generous donation made by the state government, we’re at about $173,000 raised in Charlie’s name which I think will make a big difference to a lot of kids who are struggling to find their way in life.”

Mr Stevens said the Oaklands Park skate park was one of Charlie’s favourite spots where he spent more time there than at home. Picture: NCA NewsWire

In lieu of flowers, the Stevens family had asked mourners to consider donating to the Operation Flinders Foundation – of which Mr Stevens is a board member – in their son’s memory.

It is the first time Mr Stevens has spoken publicly since delivering a heart-wrenching eulogy at Charlie’s funeral, and almost a month after Charlie was struck and killed in an alleged hit-run crash at Goolwa Beach.

Charlie was farewelled by thousands of mourners in a twilight funeral service held at Adelaide Oval on November 30, with the Stevens family and Charlie’s beloved mates paying tribute to the “smiling, cheeky and wildly loyal” 18-year-old.

Standing in front of his youngest son’s flower-adorned coffin in the William Magarey Room, Mr Stevens laughed and cried as he delivered the hardest address of his life.

“Charlie Stevens was no angel,” he said.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and his wife Emma delivered a heart-wrenching eulogy for Charlie at his Adelaide Oval funeral service. Picture: Ben Clark

Charlie was remembered as a “loveable ratbag”, dedicated mate and beloved son. Picture: Supplied

“But he was a good boy. He did have a big personality, a big heart and a good soul.

“Everybody knew Charlie. He was known for his big heart and his big smile.”

Once the stoic face of South Australia’s pandemic response, Mr Stevens barely contained his heartache as he remembered Charlie’s uniqueness, intense passion and single-minded commitment to the things and people he loved.

On Friday, Mr Stevens thanked the team at Adelaide Oval for “bending over backwards” to support the family in holding Charlie’s funeral at the venue and “making a difficult time quite special for us as well”.

Mr Stevens extended particular gratitude to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton, a former police officer, who read the commissioner’s letter to “101” in federal parliament so it would be recorded in perpetuity in Hansard records.

His powerful handwritten letter penned in the wake of Charlie’s death was met by an outpouring of grief across the nation, with the Commissioner introducing South Australians to “101”, the 101st life lost on our roads this year.

Mr Stevens said the family had been filled with gratitude over the community’s support since Charlie’s death. Picture: NCA NewsWire

He also thanked his “friends in the media” for their reporting on Charlie’s death, raising awareness for organ donation and for commemorating the state’s road toll victims.

“It’s not something we ever expected, but I think it’s had a significant impact on the way people think about the road toll and it has put a face to what is normally just a statistic,” Mr Stevens said.

“Once again, we’d like to encourage people to have that conversation with their loved ones about being organ donors.

“In a time of tragedy, you can take some solace from the fact that someone you care deeply about has enabled other families to potentially avoid having to go through a tragic loss.

“(Emma and I) are just to make sure that people appreciate just how grateful we are for the level of support we’ve had from the South Australian community. It was simply overwhelming and we’re very grateful today.”

Charlie gave one lifesaving final gift to a local father-of-four, with his kidney going to a 42-year-old who was given a month to live if not for the teenager’s incredible donation.

Mr Stevens said organ donation was something the family discussed with him when he got his driver’s licence.

In a lifesaving final gift, Charlie’s kidney was donated to a father-of-four. Picture: Supplied

More than $173,000 has been raised for the Flinders Foundation in Charlie’s honour. Picture: Supplied

In another immense mark of Charlie’s impact, advocates expect an ongoing spike in donation registrations after the Stevens family’s openness in sharing their son’s organ donation wishes.

While the commissioner said he had “not yet made any decisions” about when he would return to his role as the state’s top cop, he confirmed he had no plans to step down from the role.

“To be honest, my initial thoughts were that it would be a distraction to get back to work,” Mr Stevens said.

“But I don’t think that’s fair on the people in SAPOL.

“This is something that we need to work through and figure out what our future looks like going forward. I haven’t made any decisions about when I will return, but I will be coming back.”

Apprentice barber and Victor Harbor High School graduate Dhirren Randhawa, 18, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving over Charlie’s death.

He is further charged with leaving the scene of a crash after causing death and failing to truly answer questions.

Dhirren is yet to plead to the charges.