Teen had already smashed stolen car before he killed two girls in Monaro Highway crash

CONTENT WARNING: Graphic content.

The teenage driver who killed two girls in a devastating crash on the Monaro Highway was an immature boy who thought he was “invincible” and had driven in a dangerous way, his lawyer told the court.

It was also revealed that he had already been on a good behaviour order at the time for previously crashing a stolen car while drunk, the ACT Supreme Court heard at the 17-year-old’s sentence hearing on Monday (17 July), where the courtroom was filled with the family members of his victims.

He had been 16 when he killed 14-year-old Susi Kopysiewicz and her best friend, 15-year-old Claire Sankey, in a crash on the highway on 9 October 2022.

The teenager drank 12 beers and half a bottle of rum before taking the keys to his mother’s car and driving with a friend to pick up Susi and Claire in the early hours of 9 October, driving even though he was only on his L-plates, court documents say.

He drove them around for a while before heading north on the Monaro Highway.

Traffic cameras showed he was speeding at 200km/hour about 12 seconds before the crash. Both Susi and Claire told him to slow down, while his friend looked at the odometer and saw the speed was 180km/h shortly before they left the road.

The road was wet with rain and the teenager lost control near the intersection with Lanyon Drive. The car slid across two lanes, spun, crashed through temporary construction fencing and smashed into two trees, breaking one off at the trunk.

The friend got out of the car and called out to the others, but the teenager was the only person who responded. They both ran from the scene and caught an Uber to the teenager’s home.

While he told his mother he’d crashed her car, he told his friend not to tell the police what happened.

Police officers arrived at the scene at 8:30 am after another motorist saw the car, which had been significantly damaged, and found the two girls inside it.

“Subsequent autopsy reports revealed both deceased survived the collision for a period of time though the period of time could not be determined,” the court documents say.

“However, more likely than not, both deceased would have died from their injuries irrespective of whether medical assistance had been provided shortly after the crash.”

About two hours later, the teenager was arrested at his home. He admitted he had been the driver when speaking to police officers, but said he thought Claire and Susi had managed to get out of the car.

Speaking in court on Monday, Claire’s sister Nora Lal said her whole life had changed with a phone call that day.

“I will never be the same person again and will forever be changed from the loss of my beautiful baby sister, the light of our lives,” she said.

Edward Chen from Legal Aid, the teenager’s lawyer, said the way his client had been driving in order to impress the victims was exactly the way immature boys would behave when trying to appear tough or cool.

He argued the offending had “jolted him” into behaving maturely and argued he was genuinely remorseful, even reaching out, through his mother, to Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury to try and become the face of a campaign on reckless driving.

The teenager had started drinking alcohol when he was 13, using cannabis when he was 14 then eventually MDMA and cocaine, but was now abstinent, Mr Chen said. He has post-traumatic stress disorder due to the crash.

Prosecutor Anthony Williamson SC argued the teenager had been “showing off”. He said the boy’s speed had been extreme and he had been extremely intoxicated, with him going on to tell a forensic psychologist he had been on a “two to three-day bender” at the time.

By failing to help his victims after the crash, this suggested he was “acting out of rank selfishness and self-interest”, the prosecutor argued.

“The offender should have called emergency services and comforted the victims until their arrival,” he said.

Justice David Mossop will sentence the teenager, who has been in custody for nine months, on Wednesday (19 July).

He has already pleaded guilty to two counts of culpable driving causing death as well to a charge of not giving assistance after an accident and other, unrelated offences.

He is legally unable to be named due to his age.