POLICE say five young people, including a 13-year-old girl, involved in a high speed crash at Numbaa early last Wednesday were lucky not to be killed.
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Nowra duty officer, Inspector Paul Cockram said it was estimated the car travelled between 150km/h and 180km/h on Terara and Comerong Island roads before crashing.
“The driver’s behaviour put himself, his four passengers and other road users at risk,” Inspector Cockram said “this could have had fatal consequences.”
Police first noticed the Holden Commodore as it turned into Moss Street from the Princes Highway about 12.30am on June 14, when their mobile data terminal registered the car was a stolen.
Officers found the vehicle opposite Nowra High School before it accelerated harshly. As police tried to follow, a full can of soft drink was thrown from the front passenger's side of the vehicle, bouncing along the road before hitting the police car.
Police said the Commodore sped east along Terara Road, reaching estimated speeds of up to 180km/h in 50km/h and 80km/ zones.
At the intersection of Comerong Island Road, the vehicle lost control on the tight 25km/h bend, went straight through the intersection and collided with a dirt embankment at an estimated speed of 100km/h, skidding a further 60m into the paddock.
The male driver, Anthony Robert Carroll, 20, of Warrawong was seen running from the crash and was arrested a short distance away. A front seat passenger, 19-year-old Treidon Bradbury, of Batemans Bay and a 13-year-old girl, who was a backseat passenger, staggered from the vehicle. Two backseat male passengers, one aged 18 and the other a juvenile, suffered a suspected broken jaw and leg injuries.
Carroll was charged with taking a vehicle without the consent, never being licenced, and reckless driving. Bradbury was charged with being carried in a car without the consent of the owner and intentionally throwing an object at a vehicle.