MELBOURNE, March 13 (Xinhua) -- One teenager has died and three more have been injured after crashing a stolen car in Melbourne's western suburbs in the early hours of Friday morning.
A police statement said that a car that had been stolen on Wednesday or Thursday was allegedly pursuing another vehicle in an apparent attempted carjacking in Hoppers Crossing, 25 km west of central Melbourne, shortly after midnight.
The stolen car collided with the rear of that vehicle and with two other vehicles before rolling several times, police said.
One of the occupants, a teenage boy, died at the scene.
A 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were taken to hospital under police guard with non-life-threatening injuries.
A fourth occupant of the stolen car, another 16-year-old girl, was arrested and taken to hospital with minor injuries. Police said that she was expected to be interviewed later on Friday after being released from hospital.
The occupants of the three vehicles that were hit by the stolen car all suffered minor injuries.
The incident occurred amid an ongoing youth crime wave across Victoria.
According to data from the state's Crime Statistics Agency, the number of crimes committed by children aged 10-17 increased by 17.9 percent in the 12 months to March 2025, while the number of reported car thefts increased by 47.1 percent in the same period.
The state parliament in December passed new laws significantly increasing maximum prison sentences for children as young as 14 who are found guilty of violent offenses. ■
