Police pursuits are once again in the firing line after four people, including a young family of three, were killed in a horror crash at Narrabundah after a cross-border pursuit.
One family has expressed anger at police for continuing the chase until moments before the collision.
ACT and NSW police have defended the actions of the NSW officers who began the pursuit of the stolen car on Uriarra Road in Queanbeyan and ended it before two cars collided at the intersection of Canberra Avenue and the Monaro Highway about 10.15pm on Saturday.
It is believed the chase reached speeds of up to 150km/h.
Police investigators will examine footage from a speed camera on Canberra Avenue near the crash site to help determine the speeds reached.
The NSW critical investigation team will come from outside the Monaro Local Area Command to ensure independence.
The speeding car, travelling north on Canberra Avenue, ran a red light and tore into a Mazda 3 sedan turning into Canberra Avenue. In the turning car were 33-year-old Scott Oppelaar, his girlfriend, 29-year-old Sam Ford, and their four-month-old boy, Brody. All three were killed instantly.
The Wanniassa family was on the way to visit Mr Oppelaar's father at the Canberra South Motor Park, just 500m down the road.
The impact of the collision tore the sedan into pieces, with debris scattered more than 100m up the road.
The driver of the speeding car, 23-year-old career criminal Justin Williams and his 18-year-old female passenger were taken by ambulance to the Canberra Hospital where Williams died a short time later. The woman was last night listed in a critical condition.
For more on this story, see the print edition of today's Canberra Times.
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