A driver on the run after allegedly killing two boys in a horror smash has a mangled index finger that requires urgent medical attention, security footage shows.
Best friends Braydan Collier, 13, and Kaine Bell, 14, were traveling in a gray Ford Falcon sedan that crashed into a tree and utility pole on Maxwell Avenue, Ashcroft, about 10.50am on Monday.
The impact was so powerful that it tore the vehicle in half. Emergency services found the boys’ bodies strewn across the lawn of a suburban estate, about five meters from where most of the car came to a stop.
Police launched an urgent manhunt for two men, the driver and the front seat passenger, after security footage captured them fleeing the scene.
Nicholas Thew, 28, and Anthony Morris were both believed to remain on the run Tuesday morning.
However, it can now be revealed that a still image from the CCTV footage appears to show a serious injury to Threw’s right hand, which will require immediate medical attention.
If he seeks treatment, police can be alerted to his whereabouts.
A still image appears to show driver Nicholas Thew has mangled the index finger of his right hand – a horrific injury that requires urgent medical attention
It is also believed Thew was on parole at the time of the crash, having spent nine months in prison for domestic violence before being released in June.
In September last year, Threw was sentenced in Campbelltown Local Court to 13 months behind bars, suspended for nine months, on two charges of breaching an apprehended violence order and resisting arrest.
Court records also show Threw has appeared in courts in Campbelltown, Orange and Gosford for a series of offenses involving assault, drug possession, sexual intercourse without consent and multiple assault arrests.
NSW Police declined to comment on the development.
“Police have extensive resources today in relation to the ongoing operation,” a spokesperson said.
Braydan had just celebrated his thirteenth birthday, the day before his life was abruptly cut short on the front lawn of a stranger’s home.
The lifeless body of his best friend lay a few feet away.
Meanwhile, Thew’s heartbroken family have broken their silence on the tragedy, revealing the pair were considered surrogate big brothers to both Braydan and Kaine.
Footage emerged on Monday evening of the moment Thew dumped the bodies of one of the boys on the ground before fleeing the scene.
Best friends Braydan Collier, 13, and Kaine Bell, 14, were traveling in a gray Ford Falcon sedan at around 10.50am on Monday when it crashed into a tree and utility pole on Maxwell Avenue, Ashcroft (pictured)
One of the men could be heard shouting to the other, “I want to go home,” as they fled the scene, leaving the teens lifeless on the ground. The Daily Telegraph reported.
The sickening vision shows the driver pulling himself out of the wreckage shortly after the crash before walking past the body of a child lying on the ground..
He then pulls a second boy out of the tail wreck before pushing him to the ground.
The driver then runs back to free a young adult from the front seat before checking on the boy who was thrown from the car.
He briefly places his hands on his head before fleeing the scene. Only then is his injury visible.
A boy on a dirt bike also inspected the scene before riding away.
It comes as Thew’s younger brother Dridyn revealed how the family had taken the teenagers under their wing.
Braydan Collier had just celebrated his 13th birthday before his life was cut short on Monday
Kaine Bell, 14, also died in a horror crash in Sydney’s south-west on Monday
“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,” Dridyn told the Daily Telegraph. Monday night.
“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.
A local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told Ny Breaking Australia they saw the car driving erratically in the moments leading up to the crash, with the front passenger behaving wildly.
“About ten minutes before the crash happened, my family was walking down Busby Road (about two kilometers away from the crash site) and we saw him waving out the windows and shouting and acting stupid in the passenger seat,” she said.
“They were (allegedly) speeding, skidding and turning with the handbrake.”
Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden, traffic and highway patrol commander, said police believe the gray Ford sedan was traveling north on Maxwell Avenue, traveling at least 30 miles per hour above the speed limit on the quiet residential street.
He blamed it on a “direct result of speeding” and urged the driver and front seat passenger to come forward, adding: “We will find them.”
Thew flees the scene moments later
A boy on a dirt bike also reportedly inspected the scene before riding away
Police have launched a manhunt after witnesses revealed that two people had fled
“They just need to report to a police station so that we can talk to them and they can help us with the investigation and find out how this tragic situation developed,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, in a situation like that, the driver is ultimately responsible for themselves, their passengers and everyone else on the road.”
Deputy Commissioner McFadden said witnesses would have been traumatized by the scene.
“The absolute devastation that has occurred… and the loss of two young lives when they were ejected from that vehicle,” Mr McFadden told reporters.
“Anyone who witnessed that crash would undoubtedly have been traumatized by it.”
“The car consists of two pieces: one part is still wrapped around the tree and the other half is on the threshold of the house,” Helen El-cheikh said on Facebook.
Deputy Commissioner McFadden said police did not believe the car had been stolen.
“We believe the vehicle has a connection to the people in the car,” he said.
Helicopter crews and the dog brigade search for the two boys who fled.
Anyone with information about the incident or dashcam footage is urged to call police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.