EXCLUSIVE
The father of a boy killed in a horror crash was previously jailed over a high-speed chase that resulted in the death of a toddler.
Kaine Bell, 14, died on Monday morning along with his friend Brayden Collier, 13, after the gray Ford Falcon they were traveling in struck a tree and a telegraph pole in Ashcroft, south-west Sydney.
Nicholas Thew, 27, and Anthony Morris, 23, were reportedly in the front seat of the sedan.
Security footage shows the men removing themselves from the wreckage and fleeing the scene on foot, leaving the boys’ bodies scattered on a neighboring property.
They managed to evade police for just over 24 hours before being arrested at Wetherill Park police station at 12.30pm on Tuesday and taken to hospital for injuries sustained in the crash.
No charges have been filed.
Now it can be revealed that – in a chilling echo of the past – Kaine’s father, Kaine John Alexander Bell, spent about two years in prison for two armed robberies that led to a police chase and the 19-month-old’s subsequent death Skye. Sassine on New Year’s Eve in 2009.
Kaine John Alexander Bell is pictured with his son Kaine Bell, who died Monday
Braydan Collier, 13, and Kaine Bell, 14, were traveling in a gray Ford Falcon sedan that crashed into a tree and utility pole on Monday (pictured)
Bell and his accomplice, William Ngati, robbed two bottle shops in Sydney’s west using homemade balaclavas and a gun they found in a field earlier that morning.
Bell, who was 21 at the time, later told police that he committed the robbery because he was addicted to ice cream and owed a few thousand dollars on bicycles.
Reports at the time say the pair made $500 in one robbery, $700 in a second, and stole another $65 from a man’s wallet before jumping into a van to flee the scene.
Ngati drove the van while Bell lay in the backseat and tried not to panic, before calling his partner to tell her he loved her.
A high-speed police chase along the Hume Highway resulted in the van crashing into the Sassine family’s Subaru at around 100mph.
Skye, who was strapped into a pod in the back seat of the car, died at the scene.
Bell pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon in the NSW District Court in 2010.
Kaine John Alexander Bell (pictured right) was previously imprisoned for a robbery and a car crash that left a toddler dead
Skye Sassine died on New Year’s Eve in 2009 after a van crashed into her parents’ Subaru on the Hume Highway
He was not charged in Skye’s death. He spent two years and three months in prison and was released in 2014.
Ngati was sentenced to 19 years in prison, with a minimum of 14 years, for manslaughter.
On Tuesday, the day after Kaine Jnr died, a family friend addressed a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral costs.
“Kaine was such a happy kid who would always be happiest when he was riding his bike or fishing with Dad. He was an adventurous boy who will be so greatly missed,” the fundraiser said.
‘A beautiful smile, with those dimples and brown curly hair, you were well on your way to becoming a beautiful boy.
‘Any amount is appreciated, because every cent helps during this difficult time. Please keep Kaine’s parents and sisters in your thoughts.”
Security footage of Monday’s crash showed the driver pulling himself from the wreckage shortly after the crash before walking past the body of a child lying on the ground..
Kaine John Alexander Bell is pictured with his son Kaine Bel, who was 14 when he died in a car crash on Monday
Braydan Collier had just celebrated his 13th birthday before his life was cut short on Monday
Thew reportedly fled the crash site Monday morning, with an injured hand
He could be seen pulling the second boy from the tail wreckage before allegedly pushing him to the ground.
The driver was then allegedly seen returning to free a young adult from the front seat before checking on the boy being thrown from the car.
He briefly put his hands on his head.
One of the men was heard shouting at the other, “I want to go home,” as they reportedly ran from the scene, leaving the teens lifeless on the ground.
Thew’s heartbroken family revealed on Monday night that the men were being considered surrogate big brothers to Braydan and Kaine.
His younger brother Dridyn revealed how the family had taken the teenagers under their wing.
“Mom is more concerned about the two little boys. “She tried to take them under her wing, she took Kaine and Braydan under her wing, even though she was struggling with herself… and now there’s nothing we can do,” he said.
“They’re little ones that I took under my wing to keep out of trouble, but I haven’t seen them in two days and look where they are now.”
Another brother was the one who identified the teens’ bodies.
Pictured: Flowers and floral tributes for the teenage boys who died in a car accident on Monday