The mother of a Canberra teen accused of car theft and dangerous driving says she told her son she'd rather visit him in jail than in a graveyard.
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And a prosecutor has warned letting Jermaine Goolagong back on the streets on bail would "place Mr Goolagong and the community on a collision course which both will lose".
Goolagong is facing the ACT Magistrates Court on a string of allegations ranging from burglary, car theft, dangerous driving and failing to give assistance after a crash.
In September the teenager was already on bail for charges including the alleged theft of two high-performance cars when he allegedly got back behind the wheel, ran a red light, mounted a traffic island and crashed into another car.
The occupants of the other vehicle suffered minor injuries.
The crash occurred metres away from the Canberra Avenue site of an unrelated, horrific crash in 2010 involving a driver in a stolen car which claimed the lives of four people including a baby.
The defence have argued their client has an intellectual impairment and can't be held criminally responsible.
But the prosecution has challenged a psychiatric report finding him unfit to plead, pointing to his ability to pass a learner driver test.
Goolagong has been locked up on remand since September, but made a bail application before Magistrate Bernadette Boss today.
His mother entered the witness box, describing coming across the crash scene when looking for her son in the wake of the incident.
"In the past I've never seen the aftermath, or the crime scene, of what happens with Jermaine's criminal activity," she said.
"But recently, with the car accident, the police officer came to my door [looking for Goolagong].
"I went looking for Jermaine as I have done on a number of occasions.
She said her search took her past the location, the intersection of Canberra Avenue and Ipswich Street in Fyshwick.
The mother said she later told her son, "I'd rather visit him at the AMC [Alexander Maconochie Centre] than visit his grave every year".
The woman supported Goolagong's bail bid, and offered to call the police immediately if he breached the strict conditions of any order.
But under cross-examination from prosecutor Shane Drumgold she acknowledged she knew where her son was and failed to tell police for nine days after the crash, despite knowing they were looking for him.
The witness said she knew he would turn himself in.
She also described his recent employment as a "godsend" bringing much-needed structure into his life.
Dr Boss noted a person with Goolagong's apparent mental deficiencies was ill-suited to custody, and said it was "appalling" authorities couldn't give the family more help to cope in the community.
But she expressed fears he might pose a risk to the public and himself, particularly on the roads, if released on bail.
And Mr Drumgold argued "releasing Mr Goolagong on bail will place Mr Goolagong and the community on a collision which both will lose".
The magistrate adjourned the bail application until later this month to hear more evidence about possible support mechanisms for Goolagong.
