Two dead as car plummets off EJ Whitten bridge on Western Ring Road
UPDATE: HI-TECH hoons are using two-way radios and social media to evade police, it has emerged, as the family of one of two teens killed in a high speed crash has called for safety on the roads.
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HI-TECH hoons are using two-way radios and social media to evade police, it has emerged, as two teens are mourned, the latest victims of a deadly drag-racing culture.
It comes as the family of Harley Churchill, 19, who died when his ute plummeted off the 55m-high EJ Whitten Bridge at Keilor East, have made an emotional plea for others to take care on the road.
Two men in a silver Ford are being hunted over the fiery Western Ring Road crash that killed ute driver Mr Churchill and passenger Ivana Clonaridis.
Police believe those in the Ford sedan “baited” drivers along the highway before engaging in a race with Mr Churchill in his blue Holden.
Other frightened motorists reported the two vehicles hurtling past a truck on either side at frightening speed before Mr Churchill lost control and the car left the bridge.
Police said the ute was doing 160km/h before it hit the embankment and burst into flames.
Top traffic cop Assistant Commissioner Michael Grainger told the Herald Sun that breaking up hoons’ illegal race meets was not enough to change their adrenaline-fuelled mindset.
“The volatile combination of testosterone, young men, and fast cars continues to claim Victorian lives, and I appeal for the friends of those killed to take a long hard look at themselves and change their behaviour,’’ he said.
Mr Churchill’s family urged drivers to stay safe on the roads.
Cousin Sammy Crockett wrote on Facebook that their family was coming to terms with the “terrible tragedy”.
“They have also asked others to make sure they take care on the roads,” she said.
She described Harley as “a young man with a beautiful soul.”
“His love was his family and friends,” she wrote.
“He loved to make everyone laugh, even in the darkest days. He was kind, cheeky, compassionate and an all round great mate.
“We are all heartbroken and saddened that this tragedy has affected our family and someone else’s.”
Grieving friends and family poured out their hearts on social media in memory of Mr Churchill and Ms Clonaridis, 18.
Her anguished mother posted: “My baby is gone, what am I going to do without her? I don’t want her to be with the angels, I want her home, she was my angel.”
A close friend of Mr Churchill wrote: “I wish it wasn’t true, Harley. I told you not to drive silly I always told you not to speed, you will always be in my heart ... I’ll never forget you ever.”
Track marks from illegal street racing in Campbellfield. It's believed pair were here before bridge fatality pic.twitter.com/pUlmK5cMWv
— Ashley Argoon (@AshArgoon) January 27, 2016Mr Grainger, Victoria Police’s Acting Assistant Commissioner Road Policing Command, said hoons were using technology to change the location of illegal meets at short notice, but he said the force was committed to combating the problem.
A grieving schoolfriend of Ms Clonaridis, from Wantirna College, told the Herald Sun: “She was an amazing person — so kind to absolutely everyone, always wanted to help people that needed it and always had a smile on her face.
“She was just a gorgeous person inside and out. She had a kind spirit and it’s devastating that this happened.”
Marnie Holmes, a friend of Mr Churchill, said she was stunned something so awful had happened to somebody so caring.
“I could not believe that so soon we had to say goodbye to such an amazing young man who would do anything for anyone,’’ she said.
The silver 2003 or 2004 model Ford sedan with green P-plates that police are seeking over the crash, which occurred about 1.30am, was earlier seen at a Campbellfield industrial estate.
About 100 cars had gathered there to spin tyres and do burnouts through Merri Concourse and Lara Way, a well-known meeting point for hoons, to the frustration of business owners and workers in the area.
The hoons fled as local police arrived.
Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin said the car, with two men inside, had been “baiting” drivers to race after entering the freeway at Sydney Rd and then came across Mr Churchill and his passenger in his ute.
But his deadly decision to race ended in horror when he lost control and spun backwards before crashing through a metal barrier at the start of the bridge and plunging down.
Insp Rankin said it was believed the two vehicles had been travelling at “extremely high speeds”.
“They were in a dragging situation and I believe they were side by side,’’ he said.
“This is just a classic case of testosterone, adrenaline, young fellows and fast cars — it’s just a dreadful mix.”
Police hoped to discover whether Mr Churchill and Ms Clonaridis had also been at the Campbellfield meet, he said.
Hoons blacken streets of fear
VICTORIA’s hoon culture is creating streets of fear even in industrial estates with business owners too afraid to go outside.
Some say the double fatality was an inevitable result of illegal behaviour run rampant — and they warn it’s only a matter of time before an innocent bystander is killed.
The silver Ford believed to have “baited” the ute in which Harley Churchill and Ivana Clonaridis were killed was earlier seen at Campbellfield’s Lara Way, where police broke up a gathering of 100 cars.
Workers in the industrial area told the Herald Sun the hoons’ meets had plagued the area for more than a decade.
Black tyremarks snake for several kilometres of bitumen through the estate, and debris and a stench of burned rubber remained.
Worker Peter, who did not want to be identified, said young street racers often loitered in the area.
And Victoria Police’s restricted pursuit policy had clearly led many of them to believe they could speed off without being caught.
Racing was typically organised by one person through text messages.
“The young guys, they know the police can’t chase them,” Peter said.
A lack of legal alternatives for street racing was also part of the problem, he said.
Furniture business owner David, whose warehouse sits on Merri Concourse, which has the worst burnout marks, said his business had been broken into three times last year.
He installed a CCTV camera, but it, too, was stolen.
“I called the council because there’s no CCTV, no speed bumps, no roundabout — nothing,” he said
“Once this year is finished, I’m going to move out of here.”
Latest Victoria Police statistics show the number of vehicles impounded has grown each year since hoon laws began a decade ago, climbing to more than 4800 in 2014.
The Brimbank police service area — taking in western suburbs such as Keilor and Sunshine — is Victoria’s hoon capital, with more than 420 cars impounded in 2014, while about 320 were seized in bordering Hume, which includes parts of Tullamarine and Campbellfield.
Greater Dandenong and Frankston are also hoon hot spots.
A Tullamarine businessman, whose street has for a year been a hangout for hoons doing burnouts and doughnuts, told the Herald Sun: “I’m not about to walk out of my office. I feel for my safety if I walk out there while it’s all going off.
“Sooner or later somebody was going to get killed — a spectator or a driver — and in a way that’s what’s happened last night,’’ he said.
“And nobody is going to be able to say, ‘We didn’t know it was happening’.’’
Increased police patrols had failed to deter those responsible, often drawn from outside the area for the bigger meets.
The street is littered with tyre debris and marks. Locals are campaigning for speed humps or a low-profile roundabout to act as a deterrents.
“It's probably a few cars a few times a week and every other week it’s on like Donkey Kong,’’ the businessman said.
“The police have told me they’ve cleared in excess of 100 cars out of this street.
“And it wouldn’t even be a kilometre long.”
-Ashley Argoon and Wes Hosking
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