UPDATED: Monaro Highway crash victims 'should have been at school today'

UPDATED 3:30 pm: ACT Policing has urged teenagers and the community to think about the consequences of their actions after a horror crash killed a pair of 14 and 15-year-old teenage girls “who should have been returning to school today”.

Detective Acting Inspector Travis Mills was unable to confirm exactly when the Monaro Highway crash occurred, but they have narrowed it down to the early hours of Sunday (9 October) morning.

It’s believed the girls were in the vehicle for several hours before emergency services arrived at 8:10 am to find what Acting Inspector Mills said was a “horrific and graphic” scene.

Both victims were wearing seatbelts, but Acting Inspector Mills wouldn’t confirm their position in the vehicle.

Two other teenage boys who were known to the girls – including the 16-year-old driver who was refused bail this morning – were in the vehicle at the time and were tracked down a short time later “through inquiries”. They were treated by ACT Ambulance.

Support services are being provided to first responders and the community members who came upon the crumpled red sedan on Sunday morning.

Inspector Mills urged passengers of vehicles to “speak out if they felt the manner [or driving] was inappropriate and they were not comfortable”.

“Our kids are smart. They need to start thinking and behaving in such a way on our roads so they arrive home safely.”

Police have not ruled out more charges and have asked anyone with any information – “no matter how trivial” – to contact Crime Stoppers.

Acting Inspector Mills confirmed police officers had attended court this morning to oppose bail, if necessary.

11:30 am: It was the day before a young girl’s 15th birthday when she was found dead in the weekend’s horrific car crash along with another teenage girl.

The teenager accused of killing the two made no bail application when he appeared in court to face charges laid over the incident for the first time.

The girls, aged just 15 and 14, were found dead at the scene of the Monaro Highway crash at Hume on Sunday (9 October).

The 16-year-old boy alleged to be the driver of the red Toyota sedan they were travelling in began crying when he was formally charged with two counts of culpable driving causing death in the ACT Children’s Court the next day (10 October).

His Legal Aid lawyer made no application for bail and Magistrate Jane Campbell formally refused it, adjourning the matter to 31 October.

The boy’s mother was also seen crying as she left the courtroom.

ACT Policing said emergency services were called to a single-vehicle crash on the northbound lanes of the Monaro Highway at Hume at about 8:10 am on Sunday.

They found the sedan had crashed through a row of temporary fencing and then into a tree. The two girls were found in the vehicle and were declared dead at the scene. It was unclear at what time the crash occurred.

Police began their inquiries and spoke to two teens at their homes a short time later.

The boy, who cannot be named as he is under 18, was also charged with driving as an unaccompanied learner and not giving assistance after a crash. No pleas were entered.