A teenager has died and four children are in hospital following a car crash on the Stuart Highway, south of Darwin, NT Police say.
The vehicle carrying five youths left the road at about 10pm on Sunday night and rolled into a tree near the turn-off to Manton Dam, according to NT Police Watch Commander Chris Harden.
"A person has died at the scene and four other occupants of the vehicle were transferred to the Royal Darwin Hospital by CareFlight," he told ABC radio on Monday morning.
NT Police have since confirmed that the person who died was a 15-year-old male.
"Emergency services responded and on arrival a 15-year-old male was found deceased," NT Police said in a statement.
The remaining four passengers — aged, nine, 11, 14 and 15 — were taken to hospital with "non-life-threatening" injuries, according to Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Linder.
"It appears as though all five occupants were not wearing seatbelts and were all ejected from the vehicle," he said.
"The crash unit have told me it appears speed was involved.
Senior Sergeant Linder said detectives from the Major Crash Unit remained on the scene.
"Major crash investigators have been working through the night to work through that scene," he said.
"Road diversions are currently in place.”
Police investigate connection to robbery
Senior Sergeant Linder said police believe the youths were involved in a robbery which allegedly took place around 20 minutes before the crash.
"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 in Adelaide River at about 9:40pm," he said.
Senior Sergeant Linder said police also believe the vehicle involved had been stolen and that the youths, who remain in hospital, could face charges.
"That particular stolen motor vehicle was allegedly stolen from an address in Jingili a couple of days ago so we are obviously looking at … how the car was stolen, how it came to crash and [the] offending in between," he said.
'Terrible' weekend on NT roads
The 15-year-old was one of three people who lost their lives in road accidents at the weekend, according to Senior Sergeant Linder.
A 43-year-old man died after being hit by a car on Friday night in Winnellie, north-east of Darwin.
"The driver of the vehicle, a 69-year-old male, stopped at the scene immediately [and] did his best to help that person which is commendable given the run of pedestrian fatals we've had where the drivers haven't done that," he said.
A 46-year-old woman also died in hospital on Sunday after being involved in a crash in Livingstone, in Darwin's rural area, on the evening of June 24.
"The circumstances of that crash are that she was the only occupant of that vehicle which left the road and rolled and crashed," Senior Sergeant Linder said.
"She's been in hospital since and sadly she died yesterday morning.
Detective Senior Sergeant Linder said the crashes served as a reminder for motorists to stay vigilant and careful on the roads.
"It’s been a terrible weekend on NT roads," he said.
