Police commissioner Grant Stevens and wife Emma open up about heartbreak of losing their son Charlie

South Australia Police Chief Grant Stevens and his wife Emma open up about the heartbreaking moment their 18-year-old son was murdered.

Charlie Stevens, 18, was waiting for a bus with friends to go to the Schoolies party when he was hit by a car driven by Dhirren Randhawa in Goolwa, south of Adelaide, on November 17 last year.

He was taken to hospital in critical condition, but died the next day surrounded by his family from a severe brain injury.

Charlie’s life support was turned off the day after the accident, making him the 101st road accident victim in South Africa this year.

“It was nice spending time with him, but the hardest part was saying goodbye for the last time,” Mr Stevens said.

Mrs. Stevens spoke her last words to her youngest child.

“I just said, ‘I love you. You’re my baby, and you always will be,'” she said.

They also revealed that the 18-year-old reckless driver who killed their beloved son Charlie has apologized to the grieving parents.

Charlie’s parents received a letter of apology from their son’s killer, Dhirren Randhawa, ahead of his sentencing next month.

Ms Stevens said they appreciate Randhawa’s sincere apologies during this difficult time.

“And he wrote it, and it’s the words of an 18-year-old,” she told 60 Minutes on Sunday.

‘I don’t think he was told what to write.

“I think he is. I’m not sure Charlie could write anything that good, actually.”

Police Chief Grant Stevens and his wife Emma share that they have received an apology letter from their son’s killer. Photo: NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

In June, Randhawa pleaded guilty to one serious charge: driving without due care and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

“We are grateful that Dhirren has pleaded guilty,” Mr Stevens said.

We believe this gives us clear insight into his acceptance and responsibility.

“But I think given what still needs to happen in the trial, we’ll just let it happen.”

Dhirren Randhawa has since pleaded guilty to reckless driving resulting in death. Photo: NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

Mrs Stevens said they felt “sadness” and sympathy for Randhawa as “his life has changed forever” since the fatal accident that killed her youngest child.

“You know he’s going to have to live with this for the rest of his life,” she said.

“I mean, I think parents, and mothers of 18-year-olds, aren’t that smart.

‘As you know they are 18 and I am looking at it and I think it could have been Charlie too.’

Charlie died of his injuries in hospital after being hit by a car while celebrating Schoolies with friends at Goolwa Beach on November 17.

His death sent shockwaves through the state, with hundreds of people attending his funeral service at Adelaide Oval.

Charlie Stevens was hit by a car and killed during school dances. Photo: Supplied

Charlie Stevens was the youngest of five. Photo: Supplied

Mr Stevens, South Australia’s most senior police officer, said he never imagined his family would hear the news that a loved one had been murdered.

“I’ve always thought that delivering a death announcement is the hardest thing a police officer can do,” he said.

‘And as much as you sympathize with the families you give that information to, you have no idea, no sense of how tragic it is and how it tears your heart apart.

“You never think it will happen to you.”