A 17-year-old boy is in critical condition after falling from the back of a moving car, while a 28-year-old motorcyclist has died following a separate accident on Adelaide’s roads.
Most important points:
- A 17-year-old boy is in critical condition after falling from a moving car early Saturday morning.
- A 28-year-old man died on Friday in a separate accident between a car and a motorcycle
- Eight boys were arrested allegedly in a stolen car in a third, unrelated incident
Police said emergency services were called to Campbell Road in Elizabeth Downs just after midnight on Saturday after a 17-year-old boy fell from the back of a car traveling at low speed.
The 17-year-old Elizabeth South boy was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police said they had spoken to the car’s driver and passenger, both 17-year-olds, who were acquaintances of the victim.
Police are investigating and are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old Largs North man died on Friday evening after a separate crash in the Adelaide outback.
Police said emergency services were called to Churchill Road in Kilburn just after 6.30pm on Friday following an accident involving a car and motorbike.
The 28-year-old, riding the motorcycle, was rushed to Royal Adelaide Hospital with critical injuries but died a short time later.
The driver of the car, a 50-year-old woman from Kilburn, was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Police said it was the second death this year on SA roads and the first motorcyclist to die.
Police Secretary Joe Szakacs said there is a “significant overrepresentation of motorcyclist fatalities” each year.
Mr Szakacs said the state experienced its lowest ever toll last year but “there is still so much work to be done”.
“Seventy people on our roads who died last year is 70 too many…in 2023 I want our road tolls reduced again,” he said.
“And the only way we can see that happening is if people make better decisions on our roads.”
Eight boys, including three 12-year-olds, have been arrested
In a third, separate incident, police arrested eight boys aged 12 to 17 who were allegedly in a stolen vehicle.
Police said they spotted a Toyota SUV on Sir Donald Bradman Drive just after midnight on Saturday, and checks showed the car had been stolen from Glynde, north-east Adelaide, the day before.
Police said they did not try to stop the car, but called on Polar to help from above.
According to police, the vehicle headed west out of town, where patrols successfully captured the car on Henley Beach Road.
The car continued for a short time to Yorktown Crescent near Henley Beach South, where the vehicle’s occupants reportedly dumped the car and fled on foot.
Police said officers found all eight occupants of the car hiding in gardens on Fletcher Road and Anderson Street.
A 14-year-old boy from Hampstead Gardens, two 12-year-old boys from Greenacres, a 14-year-old boy from Pennington and a 13-year-old and 14-year-old boy from Hendon were arrested and charged with illegal use of a motor vehicle.
All were released on bail to appear in Adelaide Juvenile Court next month.
A 12-year-old boy from Campbelltown and a 17-year-old boy from Oakden were arrested and charged with illegal use of a motor vehicle and breach of bail violations.
They have been released on bail by police and will appear in court on Monday.
Szakacs said he was “outraged” and described the situation as “heartbreaking”.
“It is heartbreaking to see people as young as 12 years old involved in this type of criminal activity,” he said.
“…We must simultaneously empower younger people with better influences and support in their lives to make better decisions while not shying away from dangerous and reckless behavior that is monitored and managed by authorities in the strongest possible way”.