By Jenny Noyes
Police are combing social media and appealing for public assistance as they investigate whether the death of a 12-year-old boy north of Wollongong is linked to a crash involving a stolen car in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Officers at Corrimal police station heard a car crash about 1.35am and rushed to the intersection of Towradgi Road and Memorial Drive, finding a black Holden Barina that had slammed into a traffic control light.
Police rushed to the intersection of Towradgi Road and Memorial Drive, finding a black Holden Barina that had slammed into a traffic control light early on Tuesday morning.Credit: Nine News
But when they arrived, the vehicle was empty.
About 25 minutes later, emergency services were called to a home in the nearby suburb of Balgownie following reports a 12-year-old boy had arrived at the premises with significant injuries.
The child was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics and transferred to Wollongong Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Crime scenes have been established at both the home and the crash scene, as police investigate whether the child’s death was linked to the crash.
Detective Acting Inspector Jason Hogan told reporters on Tuesday police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the black Holden Barina over the course of the long weekend to come forward.
He said the car was reported stolen on Saturday afternoon from an address at Koonawarra, near Dapto.
Hogan said another car, silver in colour, was seen dropping the boy off at the Balgownie address before the occupants of the house called for emergency assistance. Police believe the home might be that of “a friend”.
“We are also appealing for anyone who might have social media content that would cover the incident that’s happened this morning,” he said, amid concerns the crash could be linked to a social media trend involving young people posting videos of dangerous driving.
However, he said police are yet to establish whether the boy “was in fact in the vehicle” that crashed.
“We’ll be making all lines of inquiry that we can in relation to the 12-year-old, what he was doing out at night, and his movements”.
A four-kilometre stretch of Memorial Drive was closed between the Princes Highway at Wollongong and Railway Street, Corrimal, until mid-morning.
A spokesperson for NSW Police said officers were still working to establish how many occupants had been in the car when it crashed.
Police are calling for anyone with information or dashcam relevant to the crash investigation, or how the child came to be injured, to contact Wollongong Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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