Desperate mum of troubled teen speaks out against hate, broken youth system

A north Brisbane mum says the youth justice system has no support for families as she defends her son, who was one of five involved in a crash in a stolen SUV at the weekend.

A north Brisbane mother’s heart sank when she woke early Sunday to a call from police.

Her worst fear had been realised.

A group of teenagers 16 and under, including her son, had been travelling in an alleged stolen car when it crashed at New Chum east of Ipswich.

A Queensland Police spokesman said the car was allegedly stolen and crashed on Chum St at New Chum at 2am, November 11. Picture: Google Maps

The critically injured driver and passenger were thrown from the car as it rolled on a dirt road, leaving a 500m trail of destruction.

The mother, who can’t be named for legal reasons, said after speaking to police she raced to the hospital fearing the worst.

“We had no idea how bad it was … thankfully he wasn’t injured as bad as some,” she said.

The mother of four said she understood and sympathised with the anger around youth crime but said blame was often unfairly put on the parents.

“Some parents don’t need to be smashed on social media. No one knows what we go through,” she said.

“There’s nothing left I can physically or mentally do as a parent.

“The whole justice system is flawed, I’ve been dealing with it for the past two years.

“I have constantly tried to reach out for help and support and there’s none.

“I’m not one for politics but they keep saying the youth justice system needs to change — well they need to hurry up or else more kids will die and more families will be ruined.”

Her son told her he crawled from the twisted wreck of metal, covered in glass, and limped to the aid of his friends. But they weren’t so lucky.

“He’s a really good kid, he’s just a little bit of a sheep,” she said.

“He’s such a loving boy and would do anything to help others out.”

The mother said her son then walked down the dirt road screaming for help.

“Luckily there was a security guard doing rounds nearby,” she said.

Four boys and one girl were involved in the crash.

Ipswich Inspector Kylie Rigg said although initial reports suggested the crash would involve deaths, the two critically injured teens have slightly improved in hospital.

The mum of four said the driver of the car, which was not her son, had allegedly been driving more than 100km on a dirt road when he swerved to miss a pothole, causing the care to roll multiple times. Picture: QPS

But the mother’s shock, misery, and anger around the incident has caused her even further heartache.

She said her son had stayed out of trouble until recently when he fell in with a bad crowd. She did not know where to turn.

The high school boy had stolen a car before and after apologising to the victim, swore he would never do it again.

“People are laughing at what’s happened and there’s a big fear some will be killed,” she said.

“How would the other parents feel reading things like ‘is the car okay,’ or ‘I hope they die’?

“They’re still human. Yes it was very stupid but no one should wish a child dead,” she said.

Police said “initial investigations indicate a black SUV wagon lost control and rolled while travelling on a dirt road.” Picture: Contributed

In early 2021 the State Government implemented new youth justice legislation in an attempt to crack down on repeat offenders.

Police Minister Mark Ryan said the state would go ‘hardcore on the hard nut offenders’ and ensure repeat offenders were held to account.

“The government’s intention has always been clear and that is community safety must come first and that’s the message we’re reinforcing,” he said.