An attempt to have children who commit serious crimes punished as adults gains traction after a horror crash that killed three women, allegedly caused by a 13-year-old boy in a stolen Mercedes-Benz.
The fatal A collision on Sunday in Maryborough, 265 km north of Brisbane, involved the luxury car as well as a Holden and a Mazda.
Police allege the Mercedes slammed into the rear of a Holden traveling south on Saltwater Creek Road, with the force of the impact sending the Holden into a Mazda traveling north.
Michale Chandler, 29, and Kelsie Davies, 17, were in the Holden and both killed.
The other person in the car, 23-year-old Davies Behrens, survived the crash but had to be airlifted to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where she was reportedly in critical condition.
Maryborough Hospital nurse Sheree Robertson, 52, was driving the Mazda and died at the scene despite desperate efforts from her colleagues who needed medical attention.
Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said anyone convicted of such ‘appalling acts’ should be punished with an ‘adult sentence’, a ‘minimum of life imprisonment’.
Kelsie Davies, 17, died when a stolen Mercedes drove into the Holden she was driving in Maryborough on Sunday night
Michale Chandler, a 29-year-old pastor, also died at the scene of the horror attack in Maryborough
“That’s an expectation of the community and these bleeding hearts need to wake up and come to terms with the reality because that’s something that has affected the whole community,” Leavers says. told the Courier Mail.
“We have to look at the law and look at changes that need to happen,” he said.
“Because we’ve seen things happen over the years, but this one really hit a nerve.
“Three women have been killed, we have one more lady fighting for her life. Their families have been decimated and will never be the same again.’
In contrast, Greens MP Michael Berkman has called for the criminal age of responsibility to be raised from 10 to 14 – meaning anyone under 14 who commits a crime cannot be charged.
Federally, there is a proposal to raise it to 12, which Australia’s attorneys general are currently working on, although the ACT also wants it to be 14.
Mr Leavers said that as someone who has informed families of the death of loved ones by a criminal act, he cannot support moves to raise the age of responsibility.
“I can’t imagine sending an obituary to a family saying your loved one was murdered, but the perpetrator was [underage] And we as police can’t do anything about it’
“I suggest to the do-gooders, the left-handers, and all those who would sympathize and say that person had a terrible upbringing, or a bailiff, go deliver the death message.”
Queensland Police Union chairman Ian Leavers has responded to calls to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14
Sheree Robertson, a 52-year-old nurse at Maryborough Hospital, died Sunday night when the Holden was shunted into Mazda
Mr Leavers also called for parents and carers to be held more accountable for juvenile offenders
“They have to share some of the responsibility and blame for this,” he said.
“They are irresponsible and show that they are incapable of taking care of a young person.”
He believed there was a “core group” of a dozen young people who were “causing havoc” in the communities of Maryborough and Hervey Bay, which lie on the coast north of Brisbane.
“It’s the same in Townsville, Cairns and other parts of Queensland,” he said.
“They are not misguided youths… and should be treated accordingly and the courts should do their job.”
He suggested that all levels of government should work together to tackle this problem, and suggested that if health care workers fail to perform their duties, they should be put on welfare.
Mr Leavers also believed that children who were in situations leading to illegality should be identified early with interventions between the ages of three and five, because by the time they were 10 or older it was already too leave.
A 13-year-old boy has been charged with three counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle resulting in death and one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle during Sunday night’s tragedy.
CCTV footage has emerged of two youths allegedly stealing the Mercedes-Benz involved in the crash at an address in Maryborough around 8:30pm on Sunday.
The police are investigating whether a passenger in the Mercedes fled after the accident.
The 13-year-old was named in Maroochydore Children’s Court on Monday and was due to appear before Maryborough Children’s Court on Tuesday.