Two youths admit sparking separate, dangerous, high-speed police chases through SA

TEENAGE hoons whose recklessness killed a mother-of-two and left another motorist in a coma sparked a two-hour juvenile detention stand-off, a court has heard.

The driver of this Barina, hit during the chase involving the stolen Mercedes Benz, remains in a coma. Picture: Stephen Laffer.

TEENAGE hoons whose recklessness killed a mother-of-two and left another motorist in a coma sparked a two-hour juvenile detention stand-off, a court has heard.

The Advertiser can today reveal Tuesday’s violent incident at Cavan was allegedly caused by youths involved in two recent, horrific high-speed police chases.

One is the driver of a stolen $114,000 Mercedes Benz who, in December, caused a Southern Expressway crash that embedded part of a motorist’s skull in his brain.

The other was a passenger in the stolen ute involved in October’s fiery South Rd, Bedford Park crash that killed ­Nicole Tucker, 48.

In addition to sentencing for those offences, the youths – and a third teen – now face additional detention if convicted of the incident at Cavan.

They have yet to plead to one count each of property damage and affray, charged after they climbed on to the facility’s roof at 2.30pm.

They climbed down safely, and were arrested, two hours later. Police said no one was hurt in the incident.

Yesterday the boys, both 17, faced separate hearings in the Youth Court.

The first boy pleaded guilty to charges relating to the Southern Expressway crash, and to having also driven a Nissan Pathfinder stolen after the Mercedes was abandoned.

He was one of five people arrested over that incident – the court has heard his alleged co-offenders have more than 100 pages of prior criminal history between them.

Yesterday he asked the Cavan case be adjourned for him to speak with his lawyers, and was remanded in detention on all matters until next month.

The second boy’s Cavan charges were also adjourned, and will be heard on the same day as submissions over his role in Mrs Tucker’s death.

Also yesterday, two youths confessed their involvement in a third chase – a stolen Audi that last week drove on the wrong side of the road, with its lights off, for 50km.

A boy, 17, of Renown Park, pleaded guilty to having driven the car at speeds of up to 160km/h while his co-accused, 16, admitted being a passenger.

Both were arrested in their underwear after dumping the vehicle, which had the words “Gang of 22” scrawled on one of its seats.

Just last month, the driver wrote on social media how he wished to turn his life around and would no longer break the law as he was “doing no more of that s**t”.

His criminal history, the court has previously heard, is at least 31 pages in length. The duo’s cases were adjourned until next month, pending pre-sentencing reports.

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