A brave Ballarat mother has broken down in court as she asked a boy why he did not stop moments before a fatal smash that killed her daughter during a high-speed police chase.
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Naomi Vodden sat in the witness box in the County Court today and read out a victim impact statement, saying she had to identify her daughter Jacqueline, 16, after a stolen van driven by the boy, 18, crashed on the Western Freeway in Ballan before he fled the scene last September.
“Why didn’t you just pull over? Jacqueline would still be here,” Mrs Vodden said in the packed courtroom.
“Why did you just run? Did Jacqueline’s life not mean anything to you? We now live with a life sentence.”
Judge Geoffrey Chettle said the boy, who was in court today and cannot be identified because he was a child at the time of the crash, could be facing a lengthy sentence after pleading guilty to a string of charges including culpable driving causing death.
The boy had stolen the van and picked up Jacqueline before police attempted to intercept the pair in Ballan on the afternoon of September 19.
But the boy failed to stop and accelerated, reaching speeds of up to 130km/h before a B-double truck and a car blocked his path on the Western Freeway.
He veered left in a bid to avoid the two vehicles but suddenly saw a parked VicRoads truck on the side of the road.
The van smashed into the VicRoads truck on the passenger side at speed, throwing Jacqueline from the vehicle.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The boy, who suffered only minor injuries, fled into nearby paddocks and stole another car before he was arrested more than 30 kilometres away in Wendouree.
“The way Jacqueline died is like a scene out of a horror movie,” Mrs Vodden said.
“On September 19, just after 5pm, I received a message saying there had been a car accident and Jacqueline was dead – yes, dead.
“As I read this message my world stopped.”
The court was told the boy, who has been in custody since the incident, has a photo of Jacqueline next to his bed and has been suffering from anxiety and depression.
His defence barrister argued his client was young and had prospects of rehabilitation.
“He’s 18 going on 12,” the barrister said.
Judge Chettle said the boy’s behaviour was in the “top range” of offending and one of the most serious cases of culpable driving he had seen in his career.
“Words fail me,” he said.
However, Judge Chettle said he would also take into account the boy’s age when he sentences him on Friday.
