Four out of five teens improving in hospital after Cammeray crash

As police investigate how a car packed with five teenagers slammed into a tree and caught alight after a chase, some of the injured teens are improving in hospital .

Up to five people have been injured after a suspected stolen car crashed into a tree in Cammeray. Picture: OnScene Bondi

Three Mosman teenagers and another north shore boy left fighting for life after a horror crash at Cammeray are now listedas serious, as their condition improves in hospital.

NSW Police said only one of the five teens in the car which slammed into a tree on Sunday afternoon was listed as critical,with the others improving overnight in hospital.

An 18-year-old male from Hornsby, who was in the back seat of the Holden Commodore continues to fight for life in a criticalcondition.

All five teenagers are being treated in Royal North Shore Hospital.

Police said they were pursuing the vehicle which was allegedly being driven by a 16-year-old Mosman schoolgirl, but calledoff the chase when the vehicle crossed to the wrong side of the road.

Four teens were taken to hospital after a police chase ended in a fiery smash in Cammeray. Picture: OnScene Bondi

In a bizarre twist to the crash, Detective Superintendent Paul Delvaney said the group in the car had allegedly been involvedin an assault at Wollstonecraft about 30 minutes earlier.

He said the group of five had gone to an address in Wollstonecraft around 4pm on Sunday to meet up with a 17-year-old male who was then allegedly assaulted. No charges have been laid.

A member of the public who witnessed the brawl called Triple-0 and gave the details of the car the group was seen fleeing in.

Detective Superintendent Paul Delvaney said police were on their way to check on the alleged assault victim when they spotted the red Holden Commodore in North Sydney and began to pursue it.

“That vehicle failed to stop and as a result it was pursued on two occasions for short periods of time. Both pursuits had been terminated due to the manner of driving from the offending vehicle,” he said.

At one stage according to police, the car crossed to the wrong side of the road and later reached speeds up to 150km/h forcing officers to stop their chase.

Paramedics move one of the injured on a stretcher on West St, Cammeray. Picture: OnScene Bondi

The driver, who has never held a learners permit, lost control on West St and hit a tree.

Detective Superintendent Delvaney said the actions of police and first responders in pulling all five occupants to safety before the car blew up in flames was ‘heroic’.

“I have viewed the body-worn video footage of the incident when police attended the burning vehicle and their actions are nothing short of heroic,” he said.

The car burst into flames after smashing into the tree. Picture: Len Walker

“If they didn’t remove those occupants from the vehicle I would think that we would have a fatality for sure.”

Witnesses recalled hearing the screeching sound of tyres before a loud bang and people screaming.

“Never heard anything like it in my life...I bolted out the front thinking a few cars must have crashed then saw it was just the one,” local man Chris McCabe said.

“A few of us grabbed fire extinguishers...lucky we did, there wasn’t time to wait (for fire fighters).”

Firefighters worked fast to put out the flames as smoke billowed into the street. Picture: Len Walker

The horror scenes played out in front of resident Len Walker’s home.

“One of the ladies they pulled out of the back seat, they dragged her to the ambulance … she didn’t look good at all, she was very still,” Mr Walker said.

Another witness said he heard the chase through the streets of North Sydney.

“Whoever was driving was thrashing that V8 engine...never heard nothing like it,” he wrote on social media.

The crash has been declared a critical incident and will be investigated by police from the Blue Mountains local area command.

DRAGGED CLEAR OF FLAMES

Police smashed their way through the windows of the vehicle to drag the five youths away from the flames after the car smashed into a tree and burst into flames, anding an on-again-off-again police pursuit .

Emergency services, including police, paramedics and firefighters, worked together at the scene for more than an hour after the incident occurred.

Four Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews arrived to extinguish the fire within six to seven minutes.

A witnesses told Channel 7 the car had been speeding on nearby Miller St in the moments before the crash.

Witness Renee Rifkin told Channel 7 that she saw some of the occupants of the car receiving first aid as the vehicle continued to burn nearby.

“(It was) so frightening, I started crying, my heart is still beating,” she said.

“They were on the floor, people were resuscitating them and there was fire, lots of cops.”

Paramedics took multiple patients to hospital in critical and serious conditions. Picture: OnScene Bondi

Another witness told Channel 10 there was blood around the crash site.

“There was a woman on the side of the road … there was blood everywhere,” they said.

“The car caught fire and there was a loud bang as the car blew up.”

Police are investigating and a crime scene has been established. Picture: OnScene Bondi

Dramatic video footage taken at the scene showed the mangled wreck of the car wrapped around the tree on the roadside.

A young man, who was in a neck brace, was also seen being moved by paramedics while on a stretcher. Ambulance helicopters were forced to land on nearby Bon Andrews Oval.

Police said a critical incident team from a different area – the Blue Mountains – would investigate what happened under Strike Force Mulvany.

That probe will also be subject to an independent review.

— with Dana Pendrick and Derrick Krusche