Teens on bail caught after police chase ends in crash.
Seven teenagers, including six who were already on bail, have been arrested following a police pursuit across Melbourne’s west. The chase ended when an allegedly stolen car crashed into a tree in Truganina.
The group, aged between 15 and 17, included one boy who had been released on bail dozens of times, according to an officer with knowledge of the case who was not authorised to speak publicly.
The incident began when a white Skoda SUV, believed to have been stolen during an aggravated burglary in Tarneit on Sunday, was spotted travelling at high speed on Greens Road in Wyndham Vale just after 11pm on Tuesday.
The vehicle was followed by police through Werribee, Tarneit, and Point Cook before heading over the West Gate Bridge towards Melbourne’s city centre. It later returned to the western suburbs, where the occupants abandoned the Skoda on Featherbrook Drive in Point Cook and got into a white Volvo. That car had also been reported stolen from a separate aggravated burglary in Kalorama Street, Tarneit, earlier that day.
The Volvo travelled towards Little River before turning back towards Werribee, where it crashed into a tree on Wisdom Avenue in Truganina. Five of the occupants were arrested at the scene without injury, while two others attempted to flee on foot but were apprehended a short time later. Several weapons were found in both vehicles.
The seven arrested teenagers—one aged 15, five aged 16, and one aged 17—are all from the Wyndham area. They were taken into custody to be interviewed by police.
Homeowner Reacts to Burglary
Emma Prespanoski, whose Volvo was stolen before it crashed, said she felt violated knowing that intruders had broken into her home while her family was sleeping. The incident occurred while she, her husband, and their two youngest children, aged nine and 12, were at home. Their eldest daughter was away on a school camp at the time.
In addition to the stolen Volvo, the burglars also took her husband’s car, which remains missing. She suspects they fed her labrador to keep it quiet, as the dog became sick the following day.
Prespanoski said that while the break-in was distressing, incidents like this had become increasingly common in the area. She expressed frustration at the ongoing issue and the lack of change in addressing such crimes.
Investigations into the case are ongoing.
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