A 14-year-old boy has died and five other children have been injured after an allegedly stolen car crashed into a tree in Cairns in Far North Queensland.
The crash happened just before 1am today on Pease Street, a short distance from the Edge Hill State Primary School.
Police officers had been observing the group in a small, white hatchback, alleged to have been stolen, before the car crashed into a tree at high speed.
A group of girls and boys aged 12 to 15 were in the car.
Paramedics performed CPR on the 14-year-old boy, who was a passenger in the car, but he died at the scene.
The 14-year-old male driver is in a serious condition at the Cairns Hospital, while the other children were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Hodgman said it was a "sad day for the boy's family, friends and the community" and a confronting sight for emergency services.
"Today a family is mourning, grieving the loss of a young boy, a son, a grandson and, out of respect for the family, I don't plan to go into the boy's background," Superintendent Hodgman said.
He made it clear that police did not pursue the vehicle, which he alleged had been stolen on Sunday night.
"A tyre-deflation device was authorised but was not able to be deployed before the crash," Chief Superintendent Hodgman said.
"Unfortunately, this is a tragic example of young teenagers driving cars.
"They don't have the skill set or maturity to be driving cars."
Woken by the sound of sirens
Vincent Griffiths, who lives near where the crash occurred, said he went to the site after being woken by police and ambulance sirens in the early hours.
"My heart started racing. I knew something had gone wrong," Mr Griffiths said.
"I didn't expect that someone had passed away a couple of hundred metres up from my house.
"I'll just look at this tree now every day and think, 'I wonder what happened here'.
It is believed the car was stolen from a home in the Cairns suburb of Manunda earlier on Sunday night.
Investigators from the Forensic Crash Unit are investigating with oversight from the Ethical Standards Command.
Police are appealing for anyone who saw the vehicle, a white 2010 Toyota Yaris hatchback, or has dashcam vision from the area to contact them.
They also want to hear from the driver of a blue sedan, which the allegedly stolen car overtook on Pease Street shortly before the crash.
Car theft rate skyrockets in Cairns
Chief Superintendent Hodgman urged calm in the community amid a spike in vehicle thefts.
Almost 120 vehicles were stolen between Palm Cove and Gordonvale in January — more than any other month in the past year.
"We remain committed to reducing crime across the Far North, including the stealing of cars," he said.
He said that while social dysfunction in some of the families was a contributing factor to some crimes in the region, "the majority of kids we deal with do go on to lead productive lives".
