A notorious teen offender has died, while two other teenagers are fighting for their lives after the allegedly stolen ute they were travelling in veered off a highway and crashed into a tree.
Police say an 18-year-old driver and his two 14-year-old male passengers were travelling along the Calder Highway at Woosang in rural Victoria at about 10am on Saturday when the vehicle, allegedly stolen from Mildura overnight, left the road and crashed.
Emergency services attended the scene, about 100km northwest of Bendigo, and declared one of the passengers dead at the scene.
The 14-year-old who died was well known to police and had previously been granted bail for multiple offences.
Detective Sergeant Ashley Pendrick said the two surviving teenagers were heavily trapped in the wreckage and had to be freed by rescue crews before being airlifted to hospital in a 'life threatening' condition.
'They were heavily trapped in the high impact crash,' he said.
'It took rescue workers some time to get them out of the vehicle.'
Police were first alerted to the crash through the vehicle itself, and with no witnesses at the scene, little is known about what caused it.
A notorious teen offender has died, while the driver and another passenger are fighting for their lives after the allegedly stolen car they were travelling in veered off a highway and crashed
'We're looking at everything. We will look at speed, we will look at the road conditions,' Detective Pendrick said.
'We will also look at the manner of driving.'
Reflecting on the tragedy, the detective said crashes like this were a reminder for young people to 'know there's consequences for their actions'.
'When you look at incidents like this that are totally devastating, you just plead to those kids that they're not playing games, there's real consequences,' he said.
Opposition shadow police minister Brad Battin criticised Jacinta Allan's Labor government hours after the crash, saying similar incidents were preventable if it took a tougher approach to youth crime.
'We need to fix the justice system,' he told the Herald Sun.
'Releasing young offenders for stealing cars and having unlimited bail not only leaves the community less safe, but we will see more young people die.
'What will it take for the premier to stand up and say enough is enough? Break bail, face jail. I am sick of a government who simply doesn't care.'
Emergency services attended the scene, about 100km northwest of Bendigo, where one of the passengers was declared dead
An Allan government spokesperson hit back, accusing the opposition of using the tragedy to score political points.
'Our thoughts are with the young people's loved ones as they deal with the loss and injury caused by this senseless act,' he said.
'Politicising a teenager's death says everything you need to know about Jess Wilson, whose first instinct is to send out her conspiracy theory-peddling shadow.
'There are no easy solutions to youth crime, but community safety comes first, which is why we've introduced Adult Time for Violent Crime to deliver serious consequences for repeat offenders.'
The new reforms mean children aged 14 and over now face the adult court system and can receive the same sentences as adults, including life imprisonment in certain cases.
Police say the Calder Highway is expected to be closed for a significant amount of time.