Para Hills fatal crash: Driver to face charges over teen’s police chase death

An extensive investigation will be held into a horrific crash that left a teenager dead and another seriously injured while allegedly trying to evade police.

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An extensive investigation will be held into a horrific crash that left a teenager dead and another seriously injured while allegedly trying to evade police.

The 19-year-old Salisbury man who died at the scene was a passenger in a silver 2001 Ford sedan that crashed on Nelson Rd at Para Hills just after 10.30pm on Wednesday.

The driver of the vehicle — an 18-year-old Salisbury East man — sustained multiple injuries and was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a serious condition.

The smash happened after a police patrol allegedly saw the Ford sedan speeding south at an estimated speed of over 100km/h on Nelson Rd, near McIntrye Rd.

The unmarked police car activated its emergency lights and sirens and attempted to stop the vehicle but it accelerated away.

Police terminated the chase and slowed down before finding the vehicle on a creek bed in less than two minutes.

The driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle and plunged down a gully, crashing into several trees.

Assistant Commissioner Paul Dickson said the full facts surrounding the crash are still to be determined in an “extensive, comprehensive” investigation.

He said the alleged driver was expected to be questioned by police and face serious charges.

“SAPOL has determined this incident is to be investigated as a significant investigation as all incidents of these nature are... where there is police involved and there’s death,” he said.

“In the information which I have at this point in time, there is no evidence suggesting that they (the officers in the vehicle) haven’t complied with the policy.”

The car veered-off Nelson Road & flipped, before coming to rest near a creek bed. @9NewsAdel pic.twitter.com/XfspIJTJkV

— Edward Godfrey (@EdwardGodfrey9) December 19, 2018

Donna Nicholls had just gone to bed when she heard a commotion outside.

“I heard a clutch drop and a squeal of tyres and thought there were some hoons hooning around, which is pretty common in this area ... and then I heard a bang and then another big bang and I thought ‘that’s different, I know what that sound is’,” she said.

Ms Nicholls said she ran outside and an unmarked police car arrived at the scene.

“You could see a cloud of dust coming up out of the gully across the road and (the officers) said ‘he saw our car and then just took off’,” she said.

“There were broken trees everywhere, branches on the road and you could see the car was really banged up.

“It must have been spinning as it flew through the trees.”

Ms Nicholls said the car was lodged in some trees in a “really weird angle”.

She said her neighbour — a nurse — provided assistance at the scene.

“We knew it was pretty bad, you could tell,” she said.

Mourners at the scene of the fatal crash on Nelson Rd, Para Hills. Picture: Elizabeth Henson

Ms Nicholls, who is a schoolteacher, said young people needed to be more careful when behind the wheel.

“You’ve got these young people who are in control of this heavy machinery and thinking that they’re just having a bit of fun or just doing something a bit crazy,” she said.

“It’s just so tragic because they’ve got their whole life ahead of them and they’ve made a dumb decision that has changed their life forever and has taken away the life of a young person as well.”

Ms Nicholls said Nelson Rd was notorious to crashes and safety measures, such as roundabouts, needed to be installed to slow drivers down.

“People just come hooning down and up the hill and there’s slight curves and people don’t see them,” she said.

Michelle Killoran was washing dishes when the crash unfolded.

“I heard a big noise like cars coming down the road and then I heard a big smash and then there were all cops everywhere and ambulances,” she said.

Ms Killoran said she felt sorry for the victim’s family.

She also agreed Nelson Rd was “pretty dangerous”.

“You hear a lot of people driving fast around the corner and being careless...the hill there too makes it dangerous,” Ms Killoran said.

Residents have called for greater safety measures on Nelson Rd, Para Hills 2018. Picture: AAP/ Brenton Edwards

Advertiser.com.au readers also took to Facebook to call for safety upgrades to the road.

Jade Olsen posted: “I am surprised there aren’t more deaths. Nelson Road is often used as a race road, especially past the shops (where the Pizza Hut is) due to it being a flat stretch of road. A few more roundabouts may deter further high speed driving.”

Lillee Bea echoed her comments: “Nelson Road is a speed track and poorly designed,” she said.

Police are urging witnesses to the crash or anyone with dashcam and CCTV vision of the silver Ford sedan and the unmarked police vehicle travelling on Nelson Rd or McIntyre Rd at Para Hills, prior to and during the collision, to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The man’s death brings the state’s road toll to 74 this year, compared to 95 at the same time in 2017.