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Boy, 12, charged over fatal crash that threw girl from ute

A 12-year-old boy has been charged with killing a girl thrown from the tray of the ute he was driving in far north Western Australia.

Police said the boy, aged 11 at the time, was driving dangerously and speeding when he rolled the vehicle on mudflats in Wyndham in September.

Two girls, both aged 11, were thrown from the tray and one, Abbey Forrest, was killed.

The ute was also carrying two other boys aged 11 and 13 who were seated inside.

WA Police on Friday said major crash investigators had charged the boy with manslaughter after examining the crash near the Northern Territory border.

Abbey Forrest died in September when the was thrown from the tray of a ute. Source: Facebook/Jessie Abstar Forrest
Abbey Forrest died in September when she was thrown from the tray of a ute. Source: Facebook/Jessie Abstar Forrest

He will face Kununurra Children's Court on June 5.

Abbey’s family established a GoFundMe account in the wake of her death to help with the financial toll the incident had.

“Abbey was one month away from her 12th birthday, she was at the stepping stone of forging her own identity in this world,” her mum Jessica Forrest wrote on the page.

“A bright future ahead and was the successful recipient of four major boarding school scholarships and proving herself to be quite a young leader in her community.”

Ms Forrest said after the initial incident scammers had set up fraudulent donation funds on other platforms, which added to the already grieving family’s stress.

“This added to the heartache and caused unnecessary stress as someone tried to cash in on the tragedy,” she wrote.

The loss of Abbey has had a continued financial toll on her family. Source: GoFundMe/Abbey Forrest Tributes
The loss of Abbey has had a continued financial toll on her family. Source: GoFundMe/Abbey Forrest Tributes

The single mum said the ongoing financial impact of her loss had continued to take a substantial toll.

“Through grief and sorrow it has been challenging to maintain work commitments and as a single mother with a mortgage, brings about the challenges of supporting my small family and keeping their spirits up through this tragic time,” she wrote.

Prior to Abbey’s funeral, which was held in October last year on the day of her 12th birthday, Ms Forrest told The West her daughter would be remembered as a high-achieving natural leader.

She said her daughter excelled in school, offered her time at the Wyndham Youth Aboriginal Corporation, and was presented scholarships at four different boarding schools in Perth.

She was also named the 2019 junior person of the year at an awards night for Aboriginal people in the East Kimberley region.

With AAP

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