A 17-year-old driver will face court on ‘‘serious driving offences’’ after a passenger died when his car smashed into a tree, in Chifley early this morning.
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The older model p-plate Commodore was travelling north on Eggleston Crescent in Chifley when it lost control about 12.55am, jumping a gutter near the McDonald Street intersection and slamming into a large tree.
The rear left hand side of the car took the brunt of the impact, before the car spun and came to a stop, police say.
A 17-year-old boy sitting in the rear left seat died at the scene, despite ‘‘frantic’’ attempts by paramedics and firefighters to save him.
Two other passengers, described as ‘‘fairly young’’, were hospitalised with only minor injuries.
The driver was unhurt and was being questioned by police earlier this morning.
Sergeant Rod Anderson said the boy will be summonsed to the children’s court at a later date on serious driving offences. He said alcohol was not involved in the crash, but couldn’t confirm whether the car was speeding.
A man identifying himself as the father of one of the car’s passengers told local radio this morning that a second car had been involved in the crash, and had fled the scene.
Sergeant Anderson said police did not believe there was a second car involved, but said those reports would be followed up.
The exact circumstances leading up to the crash were still under investigation early this morning.
The victim’s family have been notified, although formal identification was yet to take place at 11am.
Crash investigators with the Collision Investigation and Reconstruction Team were waiting for daylight to better determine the speed of the car.
Investigators were forced to wait for better light to finalise analysis of the scene, forcing an extended closure of Eggleston Crescent.
The road was open as at 10.55am.
The crash occurred in a residential, 60km/h road, just a short distance from nearby homes.
Sergeant Anderson said other motorists witnessed the crash, and that they were assisting police.
The death is the sixth on ACT roads this year.It comes just over a month since a motorcyclist was killed after colliding with a ute on the Orroral Road in the Orroral Valley.
‘‘This is a tragic incident, another fatality on the ACT roads,’’ Sergeant Anderson said.
A report is being prepared for the coroner.
