Teenager dies, two hurt in Hurstville power pole crash
The 19-year-old boy who died as he sat in the front passenger seat of a car being driven by a P-plater has been described as a “beautiful angel” by grieving family and friends. The car he was travelling in crashed into a power pole, snapping it in half.
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Friends and family of the “beautiful” teenage boy who died in a horror crash on a notorious “hoon strip” in Sydney’s south on Saturday morning have described him as an “angel”.
Michael Barsi, 19, died after the Nissan 200SX coupe he was the front-seat passenger in left the road and collided with a power pole, snapping it in half, on King Georges Rd in Hurstville, about 2.15am.
Neighbours attempted to revive the teenager using CPR until paramedics arrived, but he died at the scene.
Police said a green P-plate driver and a back seat passenger with knee and foot injuries were taken to St George Hospital.
Speed will be investigated as a cause of the incident.
Michael’s sister Bianca Barsi said her brother was her “best friend”, in a post to Facebook.
Friends and family flooded the comments with condolences, including Cleo Giannakopolous, who described the teen as a “beautiful angel”.
The Sunday Telegraph understands the former student of Marist Catholic College in Penshurst is of Greek and Hungarian descent.
Detective Acting Inspector Lawrence Milburn said police were speaking with several witnesses who were also in P-plate cars.
“We are looking at all circumstances of this crash and to whether any other cars were involved,” Detective Acting Inspector Milburn said.
“It may appear there is some speeding going on. The power pole was snapped off in half, which does show there was quite a significant impact.
“It is a main arterial road and we encourage everyone to go the speed limit. Tragically we’ve seen another life lost this morning and that’s one life too many.”
He said police were in the process of obtaining results from an alcohol and drug test taken from the driver.
Daniel Shaw, who lives directly in front of the crash site, said the street was a “hoon strip”.
“We’ve had a number of crashes along this road. We’ve had a few this year,” Mr Shaw said.
“It’s tragic. That boy’s parents probably expected him to come home last night.”
The father-of-four said installing a permanent speed camera down the hill could stop hooners.
Mother-of-two Vandana Bareja, who lives near the crash site and has a daughter the same age as the victim, saw the mangled car on Saturday morning.
“It’s really scary. I tell my 19-year-old daughter and 23-year-old son to not go fast,” she said.
“But when they’re backing out of our driveway, they could be careful but someone else could be speeding.”
Ms Bareja, said the speed should be reduced from 60 km/h to 50 km/h.
“If they get a green light on the Forest Road lights, some drivers just speed down the hill,” she said.
An Ambulance spokeswoman said a 19-year-old man, believed to be the driver, was in a serious condition at midday on Saturday.
She said the 18-year-old man, believed to be the passenger, was in a stable condition.
In an unrelated incident, a man has died and two others were left in a serious condition after a horror crash on the south coast between a car and a truck on Saturday.
Emergency services were called to a grisly scene on the Princes Hwy, Benandarah about 8.40am after reports of the collision between the vehicles.
The driver of the car died at the scene, 10km north of Batemans Bay, and has yet to be identified.
The male driver of the car and his female passenger were taken to Batemans Bay Hospital for treatment and mandatory testing before being transported to Canberra Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
The Princes Hwy was closed but was reopened after crash investigation unit detectives established a crime scene.
Inquiries by police into the cause of the crash are continuing.