A 15-year-old teenager is dead after a stolen vehicle crashed on Stuart Hwy near Manton Dam

A 15-year-old teenager has died and four others are in hospital after the stolen vehicle they were travelling in crashed on the Stuart Hwy on Sunday night.

EARLY investigations have indicated the five boys involved in a fatal rural crash were not wearing seatbelts and all ejected from the car.

Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner said that on Sunday about 10pm police were called to the Stuart Hwy crash, 5km north of the turn-off to the Manton Dam Recreation Area.

“The circumstances of that crash are that five youths were travelling in a stolen motor vehicle when the vehicle left the road, rolled, crashed into a tree,” he said.

“One 15-year-old youth has died as a result of that crash and the four other occupants are currently in hospital. Of the four survivors are all male youths aged 9, 11, 14 and 15. That crash occurred shortly after an alleged robbery occurred in Adelaide River.

NT Police Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner. Picture: Floss Adams.

“We’re currently investigating the circumstances of that because we believe the occupants of that vehicle are the same people involved in the earlier robbery.”

Northern Watch Commander Chris Harden told the NT News on Monday morning that the vehicle carrying five people veered off the Stuart Hwy and rolled near the Manton Dam Recreation Reserve turn-off.

“A person died at the scene and four other occupants of the vehicle were transported to Royal Darwin Hospital by CareFlight. Their injuries are unknown,” Cmdr Harden said.

Members of the Major Crash Unit were still on the scene Monday morning as investigations continued.

Police cordoned off about 800m of the Stuart Hwy, with investigators scouring the scene.

Both lanes of the Stuart Hwy remain closed on Monday morning, with motorists directed to use the rest stop lane as a detour.

The Northern Territory’s road death toll is now at 29.