A 15-YEAR-OLD female has died after an allegedly stolen car she was in, driven by a 14-year-old female, collided with a truck in Locksley at about 8.20am on Wednesday. 

The front passenger of the vehicle died on impact at the scene, while the driver and another passenger, a 12-year-old male, are under police guard at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where they were taken with non-life-threatening injuries. 

Police said it is believed the 14-year-old female driver was travelling north in a grey Holden Captiva wagon along the Hume Freeway near Alexandersons Rd when she collided with the back of a truck travelling in the same direction.

The 45-year-old truck driver from Tabilk was not injured and is assisting police with their enquiries.

Acting Superintendent Michael Layton said the wagon was taken from a driveway near Wangaratta before midnight the previous evening.

“What we’ve been able to ascertain is that the three youths were known to each other, from the North East of Victoria, in and around that Wangaratta region,” Acting Superintendent Layton told reporters at the scene. 

He said police believed the youths were friends, but further details, including where they had travelled and what were they doing, were not yet known and will form part of an ongoing investigation. 

“[It is] a life-changing event, unfortunately, for the family of the deceased 15-year-old girl, and also for the families of the other two youths in this incident, where they’re coming to terms with the injuries and the consequences of what’s occurred,” Acting Superintendent Layton said.

“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, who might be dealing with rebellious teens and young people.

“This is just a terribly tragic and confronting thing to have occurred.”

He said pending the police investigation, which is around the parameters of “dangerous driving causing death”, the 14-year-old driver will face consequences appropriate to her age and the circumstances.

Police units had been dispatched to find the vehicle after it was reported as driving erratically earlier in the morning, Acting Superindendent Layton said, but tragically the collision occurred before police were able to intervene. 

“It was a difficult and confronting scene for [the truck driver], as it was for all of our emergency services and first responders, and those commuters who stopped to try and do what they could,” he said.

Euroa SES unit commander Georgie Broussard said Euroa SES attended the scene.

A CFA spokesperson said three CFA units were in attendance.

The 14-year-old female driver was airlifted to Royal Children’s Hospital with upper body pain, an Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said, while the 12-year-old male passenger was driven to the same hospital with minor injuries.

A Royal Children’s Hospital spokesperson said the youths are in a stable condition.

Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives are appealing for public assistance.

Anyone with information or dash cam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.