Coroner indicates findings from inquest into Preston double fatality

A coroner has considered whether or not Victoria Police’s decision to conduct a short pursuit of a car caused the deaths of two men in inner Melbourne.

The scene of the crash in Preston. Picture: Tony Gough

A coroner has considered whether a Victoria Police decision to conduct a 44-second pursuit of a car contributed to the deaths of two men who crashed into a large truck on a Preston road in 2020.

The men died after a 150-minute crime spree across Melbourne which started with a burglary and resulted in dangerous driving, petrol theft and attempted carjackings.

It came to a tragic end when a police decision to pursue the car saw the men drive a black Toyota Kluger through a red light and smash into the side of a truck at the intersection of Bell and High streets on the evening of February 4, 2020.

On Tuesday, Coroner Audrey Jamieson heard evidence about the time leading up to when Sunshine West resident and 29-year-old father of five Vaatoa Chang and his housemate Jonas Montealegre, 36, died.

The inquest heard police were notified of a burglary after a woman pulled up to her St Albans home just before 7.30pm to see one of her cars — a white Mitsubishi Triton — driven away.

Her house had been broken into and ransacked, with items stolen including an iPad and a second car – a Volkswagen Golf.

The woman tracked the iPad using Apple’s Find My iPhone technology and caught up to the offenders driving in the Triton.

Police instructed the resident to pull over, for fears it was “spooking” the offenders into driving dangerously.

Police were directed to only follow the car from a distance while confirmation about assistance from the Airwing was sought.

The car was found abandoned in the car park of a Sunshine West hotel a short time later, but police and dogs were unable to find the offenders.

With the continued assistance of the robbery victims, police honed in on the offenders by tracking the stolen iPad as it headed towards Sunshine.

Police determined the iPad was pinging from a car parked in a motor in, but it wasn’t the Golf – it was a black Toyota Kluger.

Several people were seen climbing in before it sped off and started driving dangerously, prompting command to direct police to “stay clear” and let the “Airwing call it”.

At 8.30pm, the Kluger was confirmed to be registered to Chang’s wife.

One failed intercept attempt was called off when the Kluger accelerated towards Greensborough at 140km/h, but police continued to covertly track the vehicle.

The inquest heard the person behind the wheel was “driving like a ratbag”.

Police were able to move in on the car when it pulled into a Tullamarine service station about 8.45pm.

Two people who had emerged from the car as it was being refilled were arrested, but the others escaped – with the driver reversing the Kluger out of the service station at speed.

Jonas Montealegre, 36, was a passenger in the SUV that crashed into a truck at Preston. Photo: Supplied

With one sergeant describing the driving as “outrageous”, she directed all police, including the Airwing, to stand down while enquiries were made about the iPad’s location.

It was tracked to a Mernda house about 9.15pm where other stolen cars had recently been located.

The Kluger was observed speeding away.

The two men in the Kluger were covertly monitored from the ground and air for some time. Stop sticks were successfully deployed on High Street about 9.50pm, impacting several of the Kluger’s tyres.

After a period of driving on the deflated tyres, the Airwing observed the pair attempt to carjack two cars, elevating the risk to the public and instigating a lights and sirens pursuit at 9.57pm.

The Kluger failed to stop as it rapidly approached the Bell Street intersection.

Chilling dashcam footage from the pursuing highway patrol car, shown to the court, showed the Kluger speeding through a red light with no attempt to brake and then colliding with a fully-loaded truck to the audible shock of the pursuing highway patrol officers.

The impact to the truck, which was carrying fire extinguishers, caused it to fall to its side, crushing the bonnet of another car waiting at the intersection.

Vaatoa Chang was killed after crashing the Kluger into the truck. Photo: Supplied

The drivers in the truck and other car were not injured.

Emergency services found Chang deceased in the driver’s seat, while Montealegre was found trapped lying face down in the back seat.

Neither were wearing seat belts.

Montealegre was extricated and declared deceased.

The pursuit was less than 45 seconds, the inquest heard.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Lindsay Spence, said it was his opinion police had followed all the repeated clear and concise directions from their supervisors – largely to stay well clear of the Triton and Kluger for the majority of the two and a half hours, the reiterated direction the Airwing was in primary control of tracking and not to pursue until they did.

He said the sergeants in control of the incident considered an “appropriate range of resolution strategies”, including the assistance of the Airwing, canine unit and tyre deflation devices, but the two attempted carjackings “unpredictably escalated the incident without warning”.

He added the pursuit was “initiated and conducted in compliance with policy”.

While noting she would hand down a formal report later this week, Coroner Jamieson indicated she would find the men died as a result of injuries sustained in the collision and that she would not make any adverse findings against police or the way the pursuit was conducted.