Western Fwy closed at Ballan near Ballarat in west Victoria

UPDATE: A TEEN home invasion suspect has been arrested over a police pursuit which ended with the death of his passenger, a girl in her teens, in Ballan in Victoria’s west.

A TEEN home invasion suspect has been arrested over a police pursuit which ended with the death of his passenger.

The driver, 17, ran from the destroyed van at Ballan, near Ballarat, yesterday.

He had been at the wheel of a Toyota Hiace which was being pursued on the Western Freeway before it ploughed into a parked VicRoads vehicle.

The stolen van’s entire cabin was ripped off by the high-speed impact.

But the teenage driver was able to scramble out and run, leaving his passenger — a girl in her teens — behind.

Police arrested him about three hours later after he stole a car from a nearby farmhouse and drove to the Ballarat suburb of Wendouree.

The scene of the crash. Picture: Ian Wilson

Police impound a car in Wendouree. Picture: Ian Wilson

Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer said the VicRoads vehicle was legally parked on the side of the freeway at the time of the crash.

Assistant Commissioner Fryer said the pursuit lasted about four minutes.

“Police put their lights and sirens on to pull over the driver but he made the conscious decision not to stop and it’s ended in tragedy for the young girl involved,” he said.

“This is a tragedy that just didn’t need to happen. As soon as the crash happened, the young male fled the scene and found another vehicle which he stole and has driven to a house in Ballarat.”

Detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit were last night at the scene.

Police were in the process last night of trying to get blood samples from the teenage boy as they seek to find out if he had taken drugs or alcohol in the lead up to the fatal crash.

Police at the scene. Picture: Ian Wilson

Scott, a plumber, told the Herald Sun he was driving into Ballan about 2.15pm when he spotted the van speeding out of town with a marked police car in pursuit near the intersection of Old Melbourne and Geelong-Ballan roads.

“About 150m before I crossed him I noticed he was doing a pretty ridiculous speed — you could just tell,’’ Scott said. “At that stage I didn’t see any police cars.

“I noticed the driver was fidgeting around — he was sort of ducking his head down and fidgeting down low.

“Then he has passed me and probably 200 or 300m behind him I noticed a marked police car with lights and sirens and then further back from him was another police car — I think a Ford Territory.

“They were only maybe 800m from the police station when I saw this van scream past me. It’s a 60kmh zone there. I reckon they were doing at least 100kmh. At least.

“You could just tell the way it was moving. It was travelling.”

Police impound a car. Picture: Ian Wilson

The remains of the van are all but flattened on the road. Picture: Ian Wilson

Another witness, Kylie, was walking her dog on Edols St near the local primary school when she saw the van with a silver police sedan chasing with its lights and sirens on.

The van driver appeared to be wearing a beanie and dressed in tradie-type clothing.

“We had just finished crossing the road when the van sped past — it didn’t even stop at the intersection there on the corner,’’ Kylie said.

“They had an unmarked police car chasing it and that went down Edols St. It was really hoofing it down the street.”

“It’s small country town — usually it’s only 50km/h down there. It was going pretty fast.

“It was really hoofing it down the street. It’s lucky the kids weren’t out at school because they went straight past where the playground is.

“(I was staring) in disbelief. It’s not something you ever see down here. It’s usually pretty quiet. I was wondering what was going on. I thought it was a bit weird for here.”

The remains of the van after the crash. Picture: Channel 9

Emergency services at the scene of the crash. Picture: Ian Wilson

Witnesses told the Herald Sun the boy attempted to flee police after they closed in on him hiding inside a friend’s home in Wendouree, near Ballarat.

“He jumped out the window but he didn’t get far. There were police inside and outside of the house,” a neighbour said.

The boy’s legs were covered in blood when he was handcuffed by police and put inside a divisional van.

One neighbour described him as a “good kid who made dumb decisions”.

The Hiace had allegedly been stolen in a home invasion at Ballarat yesterday morning.

The Western Freeway has reopened after it was closed Ballarat-bound until early this morning while detectives from the major collision investigation unit examined the scene.

A Victoria Police spokesman said the investigation would be overseen by officers from professional standards command.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam footage is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersvic.com.au