15:33 EDT, 7 February 2021
A police officer has issued desperate plea to politicians and vigilantes following the tragic death of his close friend killed in a horror crash.
Jennifer Board, 22, was killed instantly when two cars collided and spun out of control at an intersection in Townsville on Friday night, one smashing into her.
The fatal crash devastated the Far North Queensland city, where many blamed the state s broken youth justice laws for the tragedy.
Police have since arrested a teenage girl, 17 over the crash and charged her with fives counts of unlawful use of a vehicle and one count of stealing.
THE number of young criminals fronting Townsville courts has risen sharply over the last five years, with the city recording the highest number of cases in regional Queensland. Since 2016/17, there has been a 62 per cent increase in the number of defendants who have appeared in a local court, with a staggering 1370 defendants appearing before a magistrate or judge. However the way the data is recorded, each appearance by repeat offenders is counted as a new defendant, which means there is no way to tell the actual number of children that appeared in the city s courts from the Magistrate Court of Queensland Annual Report.
Date Time
Police update: Dangerous operation of a stolen vehicle at Townsville
Townsville detectives have charged six children with multiple offences after a stolen four-wheel drive was allegedly driven at high speed towards police and members of the public in Townsville yesterday morning.
It will be alleged at around 5.20am on January 30 seven juveniles stole a Toyota Landcruiser Prado from a home in Kelso and were witnessed driving at high speed on the wrong side of the road and travelling through red traffic lights, forcing members of the public to take evasive action.
Police deployed a tyre deflation device on Beck Drive at Condon, however the Landcruiser swerved around the spikes and subsequently crashed into a tree.
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