A young pregnant woman and her partner have been killed when they were allegedly mowed down by a 17-year-old driver high on drugs in a stolen car.
The couple were walking their two dogs in the Brisbane suburb of Alexandra Hills about 5.30pm on Australia Day when they were hit.
The teenage driver of the allegedly stolen Toyota Land Cruiser was charged with murder, burglary and several driving offences early the next morning.
He is understood to have been on bail facing 50 unrelated charges and high on drugs at the time of the crash.
The teen from Waterford West will appear in the Brisbane Children’s Court on Wednesday.
The woman, 31, who was believed to be six months pregnant and the man, 37, had been out walking their dog in Alexandra Hills in the city’s east on Tuesday at 5.30pm when they were struck by an allegedly stolen Toyota LandCruiser.
Police allege the teenage boy had been driving erratically through the intersection on Finucane Road and Vienna Drive when his car smashed into a tow truck.
This intersection in Alexandra Hills has reopened to traffic after a horrific crash claimed the lives of a man and a woman out walking their dog on Tuesday afternoon
Witness Mark Lovorec (pictured on Wednesday morning) has been left shocked and angry by the tragedy
Flower tributes have been laid at the tragic scene in Brisbane’s bayside, where two pedestrians were struck and killed
Police allege the Toyota rolled across the road straight into the couple, who died at the scene.
The man was killed instantly while desperate attempts from passersby were made to save the woman’s life.
Witnesses left shaken by the crash have since revealed a brave pair of men spent close to an hour trying to revive the woman.
The couple’s dog Frankie survived but fled in terror and hasn’t been seen since, while another of their pets was found and taken to the vet with minor injuries.
A local from the shattered community shared a photo of Frankie to social media on Tuesday night, prompting residents to scour the streets trying to find the traumatised animal.
One man said he spent three hours out in the bush with a thermal scope looking for Frankie until 2am, while others searched in their cars into the early hours.
Frankie needs urgent medication for a health condition and residents have been urged to contact Capalaba Police if they find her.
A man and a woman had been walking in Alexandra Hills in the city’s east on Tuesday afternoon around 5.30 when they were struck and killed by an allegedly stolen Toyota LandCruiser (pictured)
The couple’s dog Frankie survived the ordeal but fled the scene in terror and is still missing
The dog remains missing on Wednesday morning.
The tragedy has rocked the close-knit community in Brisbane’s bayside as shocked witnesses recalled the horrific crash.
Local resident Mark Lovorec was on a late afternoon jog when he saw the tragedy unfold.
‘I saw the car speed down and two pedestrians were walking the dog and he just slammed straight into them,’ he told Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
‘A male body has flown over there and the female over the other side.
‘Then the car hit another car and there was a big accident.
‘I looked at the people on the road and they were dead and I was in shock. I looked at them and they were gone.’
Mr Lovorec said the community has been left shocked and angry by the tragedy.
‘They are pretty angry, I’m angry,’ he told the program.
‘They are local residents, a pregnant woman and her partner.
‘It was horrific and it should not have happened. I am sorry for the loss and everyone is very angry about it.’
Another witness who watched the horror unfold said he desperately tried to resuscitate the woman.
‘My wife and I were there at the time. They didn’t stand a chance as the car took them out, it’s unlikely they even saw the car that hit them,’ the man said.
‘Sadly I was more than just a witness.’
Another woman said her husband, believed to be an emergency service worker, had also tried to revive the woman and was still in a ‘bad way’ after the harrowing ordeal.
‘My husband worked on the deceased woman for half an hour. Rest in peace,’ she said.
Police say the 17-year-old driver allegedly fled the scene before he was arrested nearby and taken to hospital for minor injuries.
Emergency services are seen at the scene at the intersection on Finucane Road and Vienna Drive on Tuesday
Shocking footage surfaced of the teenager allegedly speeding through an intersection before smashing into another vehicle just 15 minutes before the fatal crash.
Nearby drivers screamed in horror as the Toyota sped through the intersection, attempting to cut off a silver hatchback before crashing into the vehicle’s side – only to then speed off into the distance.
The driver, who was wearing sunglasses, had been seen crude making gestures towards other motorists while stopped at the traffic lights before slamming into the hatchback.
A woman who was filming the teenager’s mocking display from behind with her partner then pulled over to check on the hatchback driver and call police.
As heard in the video which was shared to social media, the hatchback driver said his disabled son had been sitting in the back at the time they were hit.
The 17-year-old driver of the Toyota LandCruiser was allegedly seen in another wild crash just 15 minutes before the deadly collision (pictured, the teen filmed making rude gestures out of the car window)
The driver allegedly crashed into a silver hatchback just minutes before smashing into the truck in Alexandra Hills (pictured, the footage filmed by a horrified onlooker)
At the start of the footage, the woman was heard discouraging others from laughing at the driver, who she labelled a ‘d**khead’.
She can then be heard screaming in the shocking video as the driver sped off into what was one of two crashes that afternoon – with the second proving to be fatal.
Finucane Road was closed for several hours while investigations continued.
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia ten crews arrived at the intersection after the crash.
Two adults and a child were also assessed but did not need treatment.
The Toyota is seen trying to cut off the hatchback before it smashed into its side (pictured) and sped off
Police will allege the Landcruiser 4WD was stolen from a Cleveland house an hour before the crash.
Officers will also allege that shortly after the crash, the teen stole a set of keys from a nearby home in Kingston Avenue and attempted to start a car in the garage.
‘He fled on foot when approached by one of the residents of the house who followed him to Chelsea Crescent where he was arrested, a police statement read.
The man and woman were killed at the same intersection where grandmother Rhonda Lofting, 65, was struck down and killed in 2014.
She was stopped at a red light at the intersection when her car was struck by a stolen vehicle driven by a 40-year-old man.
The driver was charged with manslaughter over her death and sentenced to 11 years’ jail.
The Australia Day tragedy comes after 275 people killed on Queensland roads in 2020, 50 more than in 2019.