A NORTH East boy found to have stolen his mother’s car before a fatal collision on the Hume Freeway last year has faced court. The youth offender was 12-years-old at the time of a deadly collision on June 28, as he was in the rear passenger seat of the vehicle which collided with a truck and killed a 15-year-old Wodonga girl. The vehicle was travelling along the Hume Freeway, with a 14-year-old female driver, when it collided with the truck near Alexandersons Road, Locksley, at about 8:30am. The 15-year-old Wodonga girl was in the front passenger seat of the Holden and died at the scene. The 14-year-old female driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to hospital. She was also charged with dangerous driving causing death. In the lead up to the fatal collision, the court heard the boy had travelled to Wodonga to meet with the 15-year-old girl on June 26, when they made plans to steal his mother’s car. After stalling the vehicle, the girl drove to pick up the 14-year-old girl down the highway, as the two females took turns driving the vehicle before coming to a fatal halt at Locksley. The boy sustained minor injuries and was taken to a Melbourne hospital. The 45-year-old truck driver from Tabilk was not injured. The court heard the boy committed further offending after his arrest a month after the collision, including the theft of a 24-pack of sausages from Woolworths and an attempt to steal a Toyota Camry parked at an underground carpark earlier this year. The matter will return to court on September.
