Alleged driver of stolen car that killed four teens indicted

The teenager accused of killing four friends while behind the wheel of a stolen car on the wrong side of the road has had his matter indicted to a higher court.

Four children died after the car crashed at the intersection of Duckworth St and Bayswater Rd at 4.30am on June 7. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR

The teenager accused of killing four friends while behind the wheel of a stolen car on the wrong side of the road has had his matter indicted to a higher court.

Four children were killed on June 7, 2020 when the car they were travelling in smashed into pole and flipped at the intersection of Duckworth St and Bayswater Rd in the early hours of the morning.

Photos showing the twisted wreckage of the Kia Sorrento sent shockwaves through the Townsville community and across the country, sparking criticism of the state’s youth justice legislation and putting youth crime in the national spotlight when it was later revealed that the 14-year-old driver - and only survivor - was on bail.

Four children died after the car crashed at the intersection of Duckworth St and Bayswater Rd at 4.30am on June 7. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR

He had been released from custody just days earlier.

Sources told the Bulletin the boy would face the Queensland Children’s Court in May on a string of four charges including dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, possessing dangerous drugs and burglary after two additional charges against him were discontinued by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In December last year the boy’s mother wept in court as her son was committed to stand trial without a jury.

The boy has been behind bars since the arrest and most recently was in custody at a Brisbane detention centre awaiting trial.

Cayenne Nona, 14, Rayveena Coolwell, 15, Lucius Baira-Hill, 13, and Aaliyah Tappa Brown, 17, were all killed in the crash in which the alleged teen driver suffered non-life threatening injuries.

(From top) Cayenne Nona, Rayveena Coolwell, Lucius Hill (also known by Baira), and Aaliyah Tappa Brown were killed in a crash on Sunday morning.

Ten days later, the State Government amended youth bail laws, rewriting legislation to say if an offender was a risk to the community, they must not get bail.

The boy faces three additional charges including stealing and attempted burglary which remain in the Magistrates Court jurisdiction and will be mentioned next in June.