A teenager deemed to be "one of the worst" young criminals in Ballarat was driving a stolen van that crashed and killed his female passenger during a high-speed police chase, a coronial inquest has heard.
Jacqueline Vodden was just 16 in September 2017, when she was thrown from the van and killed on the Western Freeway near the Victorian town of Ballan, north-west of Melbourne.
A coronial inquest into her death has begun hearing evidence from police members involved in the chase leading up to the fatal crash.
The Ballarat teenager had become friends with the 17-year-old driver of the stolen van in the months prior to her death, and the court heard the pair had been involved in a crash together just days earlier.
On the day of Jacqueline's death, police were looking for her male friend, who cannot be named, over an attempted aggravated burglary and other offences.
A fatal pursuit
The inquest heard four police members from Ballarat travelled east in an unmarked car, believing the teen may have been travelling through the Ballan area.
They tried to pull the van over just outside the township, but it did not stop.
After a chase through Ballan and onto the Western Freeway, the van struck a stationary VicRoads truck.
Jacqueline was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.
The drug-affected driver ran away and stole another car.
He was later arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to charges including culpable driving.
The teenager's eight-year sentence was later reduced on appeal.
Police actions in spotlight
The inquest will consider whether the pursuit was conducted in accordance with Victoria Police policy, and whether it should have been called off before the fatal crash.
Counsel Assisting the Coroner, Rose Singleton, said she would canvas the manner and speeds at which the van was driving through the main street of Ballan and whether the pursuit controller was given enough information to properly assess the risks of the chase.
The first police witness, Senior Constable Rory Meddick, said the teenage van driver was "one of the worst, if not the worst, high-volume crime offenders that was active in the Ballarat area".
But the officer could not remember whether he and his colleagues in the unmarked car had discussed what to do if they found the teen.
"Generally, yes, we'd formulate a type of plan but I can't recall whether we formulated one at the time or not given it's four and a half years ago," Senior-Constable Meddick said under questioning from Ms Singleton.
"But it was your usual practice?" she asked.
"Yes," the officer replied.
Chase reached high speeds
Two civil construction workers said they saw the van travelling about 100kph along the main street of Ballan, while the unmarked car followed.
The van veered onto the wrong side of the road in the town, including through a roundabout, the inquest was told.
Witness Kane Davies said he saw the van negotiate a speed hump at such a speed the female passenger's head appeared to hit the windscreen.
He said neither the driver nor the passenger appeared to be wearing seatbelts.
The inquest will hear from two other occupants of the unmarked police car, but its driver has been excused from giving evidence on medical grounds.
The pursuit controller is also listed to give evidence.
The inquest, before Coroner Sarah Gebert, continues.
