By Catherine Naylor
A 49-year-old man on his way to work has been killed in Sydney’s west after his car was hit by a Holden sedan that was being followed by police.
Police have declared the crash at St Marys a “critical incident”, but say two officers in a marked car were not pursuing the sedan when it crashed into a Toyota Corolla on the Great Western Highway at about 4am on Tuesday, killing the hatchback driver.
“This is a tragedy beyond belief,” North West Metropolitan Region Commander Gavin Wood said. “You have an innocent 49-year-old male going to work, and he doesn’t go to work, and he doesn’t go home. His family don’t get to see him … For that poor man, and his family and friends, their life has changed in this instant.”
Wood said the officers were patrolling in a fully marked police car on nearby Mamre Road when they first spotted the sedan and thought the driver was acting suspiciously.
The officers began following the car and turned on their emergency lights and sirens to get through a red light, before they came upon the crash scene.
“At no stage was that police vehicle in pursuit of that car,” Wood said.
“Police have followed that vehicle, the vehicle has accelerated away from the proximity of the attending police [and] turned onto the Great Western Highway, where police have lost sight of that vehicle.
“Police have then activated their lights and sirens to go through the intersection of the Great Western Highway and … the next vision as they came up the crest of the Great Western Highway was seeing that [sedan] involved in the incident.”
The officers rendered first aid to the hatchback driver but he died at the scene.
Wood said the family of the hatchback driver, who was local to the St Marys area, had been informed of the man’s death.
The 43-year-old man who police say was driving the sedan allegedly fled the scene on foot and was soon arrested in a nearby backyard, where police say he was trying to steal clothes off a washing line. He was taken to Nepean Hospital under police guard for treatment. Wood said the man was disqualified from driving at the time of the incident and was known to police.
A critical incident is declared when a person is seriously injured or dies during a matter involving a police officer. A critical incident team from the North Shore Police Area Command will investigate the incident. The investigation will be subject to an independent review.
Anyone with footage or information about the crash should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.