‘Debris flying’: Cop killed in horror crash
Two women were allegedly travelling in a stolen car at more than 145km per hour when they mowed down and killed a police officer, a court has been told.
Skye Anne Wallis and Kari O’Brien are both charged with the murder of Senior Constable David Masters.
The 53‐year‐old was attempting to stop the allegedly stolen car on the Bruce Highway, near Burpengary, in Brisbane’s north, about 3am on June 27, 2021.
The Crown prosecution will allege in court that Wallis was driving the stolen car when she struck Senior Constable Masters.
It will further be alleged Ms O’Brien was a passenger in the stolen car.
The Crown will argue the two women were engaged in the unlawful purpose of evading police for many hours before Ms Wallis drove at a police officer, committing felony murder.
They pair allegedly fled the scene and were arrested days later.
The co-accused faced a committal hearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.
The court was told the crash investigation unit had calculated the alleged average speed the stolen car was travelling at the time was between 147km/hr and 153km/hr.
Queensland Police Detective Sergeant Troy Weston told the hearing Senior Constable Masters’ body worn camera footage wasn’t “activated” at the time of his death, but another constable nearby had theirs switched on.
The court was told the crash investigation unit had used this footage to assist in determining what speed the stolen car was allegedly travelling at when the crash occurred.
During Monday’s hearing, Leif Haas recounted how he was driving on the Bruce Hwy moments before the crash.
Mr Haas said he was “less than 500m” away from seeing the moment the alleged stolen car slammed into Constable Masters, which resulted in a “hell of a lot of debris flying in the air”.
“I didn’t believe it was a motor car, I saw enough debris in the air to believe it was a motorbike,” Mr Haas said.
When asked whether the car which caused the crash stayed at the scene, Mr Haas said “it sped away at quite a fast pace”.
“It was just gone,” he said.
Ms O’Brien and Ms Wallis are also each facing charges of arson and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
Her barrister Chris Wilson told the court he intended to make an application to have her murder charge dismissed on Tuesday.
Ms O’Brien remains on bail after she was granted Supreme Court bail last month following spending three years in custody. Ms Wallis remains in custody.
Constable Masters was stationed at Deception Bay Police Station before his death and had previously worked in the Queensland mounted police.
His wife Sharon and their son Jack attended court proceedings on Monday, surrounded by friends and family.
The hearing continues Tuesday.
