Man hurt in horror collision with alleged stolen Honda CRV
An innocent victim of the Cairns car theft epidemic has been injured in a head-on crash with an alleged stolen car ahead of tough new anti-crime laws to be debated in parliament. Watch the video.
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A stolen Honda CRV packed with eight masked youths taunted police right up until the vehicle was involved in a serious crash at Edge Hill that injured an older man on Saturday night.
Twenty days into the month of February, 38 vehicles have been stolen in the Cairns area after 58 cars were stolen in January.
The rate of stolen cars across Cairns reached a peak of 162 in March last year at 5.22 cars thefts per day, just weeks after the tragic death of 14-year-old Bradley Smith in an allegedly stolen car on February 14.
Last week a new youth crime task-force was established in response to a record 1299 vehicles stolen in 2022.
The totalled Honda CRV, stolen from Laguna Ave, Redlynch in the early hours of Saturday morning was one of six vehicles to be stolen in Cairns between Thursday and Sunday night.
Owner of the vehicle Sung Eun Baik posted an alert on social media requesting other road users keep an eye out for the car.
“They broke down our door, stole our keys and other items and left with the car,” she said.
“We wasted a day looking for them and their break-in made our home no longer safe and fearful of our children.
“Outlaws on the road, they must be found.”
Emergency services attended the collision of the Honda and Hyundai at the corner of Jensen and Woodward streets at 9pm on Sunday night.
The driver of the Hyundai, a man in his 60s, was treated for a back and leg injuries and was taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition.
Police are yet to make any arrest in relation to the car theft but two women are assisting officers with inquiries.
To coincide with the first sitting of the Queensland parliament on Tuesday a protest gathering will be held from 5am outside Parliament House to rally against a statewide youth crime epidemic.
In response to skyrocketing crime throughout the state, new laws cracking down on youth crime are expected to be discussed during the first sitting of parliament for the year.
Bentley Park resident Rob Hicks was the victim of a break and enter last week and said criminals needed to be held accountable for their actions.
He managed to chase off three offenders with a baseball bat before his vehicle was stolen.
“These 10 point plans are all good but they need to be held accountable before someone gets killed, it should not get to that before the authorities take action,” he said.
“Then there is all the cost, we had the car re-keyed and the householders. My partner is still rattled and the international student got a real scare.
“To me we have to put heat on the politicians, if they are losing votes on the issue they might stand up and do something.
“I really think it starts with the lawmakers, the politicians and the bureaucrats need to slow it down, some hard love is needed.”
Included in the raft of proposed changes is increased penalties for criminals who have boasted about these crimes on social media $$9.89m to fast track sentencing, an engine immobiliser trial in Cairns and last week’s appointment of Acting Assistant Commissioner George Marchesini as youth crime task-force commander.
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Originally published as Man hurt in horror collision with alleged stolen Honda CRV
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