Last Saturday night twenty three year old Justin Williams stole a Mazda 626 and proceeded to go on a high speed joyride with his girlfriend, eighteen year old Skye Webb.
After speeding past a police patrol the police engaged in a high speed pursuit but called it off after Williams ran a red light. A few seconds later Williams ran another red light and collided into a family of three.
Both Williams and the entire family died at the scene.
The real tragedy?
Williams had multiple prior records and just ten months ago put himself into a coma after crashing another car he’d stolen. At the time of both crashes Williams was also an unlicensed driver.
Sadly the only tragedy here is the abysmal ineffectiveness of Australia’s court system who now unquestionably have blood on their hands.
Police are already in a difficult position when it comes to engaging in pursuit. On one hand there’s the danger factor to the general public and themselves but then there’s also the need for some kind of deterrent. If moron drivers know that by hitting the accelerator police will mandatory give up chase what do you think they’re going to do?
Currently Sky Webbe is in an induced coma, she was in the passenger seat of the stolen car and had been going out with Williams for just two months. Today Webbe’s mother Debbie (pictured right) lashed out at police and placed responsibility of the accident squarely on them.
Ms Webb’s mother Debbie this morning conceded Justin was running from police but said she blamed police “totally” for the crash.
“I can see he’s done wrong but it’s a petty little crime,” she told Radio 3AW.
“One stolen car. He didn’t murder anybody at the time, you know, but that’s what it led him to because of the police chase.”
The mother called for legislation to ban police pursuits.
“Innocent people are dying all because of police chases,” she said.
Wait what?
It is currently unknown when the car Williams was driving was stolen therefore just for how long he’d been speeding along before the police engaged in pursuit is also unknown.
If the police weren’t around does anybody really think some moron with his girlfriend speeding along are going to be stopping for red lights anyway?
You’ve just stolen a car, you’re speeding along and you’re unlicensed with a previous criminal record and outstanding charges. Yeah, better stop for those red lights.
As for a petty little crime, let’s not twist the situation post mortem. Justin Williams not only stole a car on Saturday night, he murdered an innocent family too. Murder isn’t exactly a petty crime in my books.
Whether the police were doing their job or not has nothing to do with it. Ten months ago Williams put himself into a coma after crashing another stolen car and the police weren’t pursuing him then. The only constant between two crashes is the idiot behind the wheel and those that support him.
Debbie Webbe included.
Unfortunately the family of the Oppelaar’s (the innocent family Williams’ smashed into), seem to be just as bogan as the Webbes and have also come out blaming the police.
Mr Oppelaar’s cousin, Jason Kelly, said: ”I purely blame police for it. He’s getting chased and that’s what young people do. They get scared and they take off,” he told reporters.
Mr Oppelaar’s sister, Nicki, was also angry. ”My brother is dead now because the police chased this car to the point where he didn’t want to stop.”
Mr Oppelaar’s brother, Chris Mills, said: ”You have to ask who’s responsible … in some part it’s the driver for doing the speeds he was doing, but mostly it comes down to the coppers … what good’s a stolen car?”
Most likely Williams was enjoying the rush and his idiot of a girlfriend would have been cheering him on.
Secondly, “wanted to stop?” Sure, that makes sense. Williams was flying around speeding his nuts off in a stolen car before he even registered on the police radar, and we’re expected to believe he wanted to stop?
”onest guv, I ‘ad wanted to stop but then I saws those police sirens and shatted myself I did’.
Yeah I’m sure that was exactly what was going through Williams’ mind.
Thirdly it’s not about the stolen car. It’s about sparing the public from morons who steal cars and joyride around in them at high speeds. Williams had already proven he didn’t need a police to get himself into a car crash at high speed ten months earlier.
Unfortunately the coma crash didn’t kill Williams. Darwin gave him a second chance at life but the courts should have revoked his freedom then and there.
Instead, due to a troubled childhood, physical abuse, being down on his luck, missing his favourite tv show or whatever stereotypical bullshit reason his lawyer would have fed the courts, the Australian court system gave Williams the now all too familiar slap on the wrist treatment. Now an innocent family of three are dead.
The good news is that ten months after Williams was released and given permission to ruin more people’s lives, the Australian court system is still as limp dicked as ever. Last November P-plater Joanne Grosse was found slumped over the steering wheel of her car and had a blood alcohol reading of 0.385.
The legal blood alcohol limit for a P-plater is 0.00.
Despite having multiple prior drink driving offences Joanne Grosse was simply fined $600, disqualified from driving for 18 months (like that’ll work) and put on a good behaviour bond.
Three cheers for the Australian court system!
I for one can’t wait to read about who Grosse winds up killing and how invariably the police are to blame.
