A 17-year-old boy has been arrested with multiple charges after a suspected stolen vehicle from Cranbourne South collided with another car and killed the 28-year-old driver.
The fatal crash happened at the intersection of Warrigal and Highbury roads in Burwood at about 7pm on Tuesday 2 July.
The boy was arrested in Malvern East at about 8.30pm on Wednesday 3 July and charged with culpable driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death, failure to stop and render assistance, theft of motor vehicle and unlicensed driving.
Two 15-year-old girls were arrested at the scene of the crash and have also been charged with theft of a motor vehicle.
Police said a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee was travelling fast and erratically when it crashed into the second vehicle, killing the driver, who was the sole occupant and is yet to be formally identified.
There were up to six teens in the Jeep with four males fleeing after the crash.
Police described the decision of the occupants to allegedly flee the scene and leave a dying man as “absolutely cowardly”.
“It was high-impact, high-speed impact. They know someone would have been hurt in that vehicle … to leave a person either injured or killed is cowardly. It’s absolutely cowardly,” Detective Senior Sergeant Christian Von Tunk said on Wednesday.
The 17-year-old has been remanded in custody to appear before a children’s court on Thursday 4 July.
The two charged girls have been bailed to appear before a children’s court at a later date.
The Jeep was allegedly stolen during an aggravated home burglary in Cranbourne South last week before being used in two armed robberies in Ormond and Ripponlea on June 30.
Police are still seeking three other teens who fled the scene and have warned their friends and family to urge them to come forward.
