CCTV emerges of lead-up to horror crash
Horror CCTV footage has emerged of the seconds before a quiet Sydney street was rocked by a horror crash.
Alina Kauffman, 24, and her 15-year-old brother, Ernesto, were killed in a head-on collision with an allegedly stolen Mercedes SUV just meters from their home on Friday evening.
Footage depicts the SUV accelerating heavily past a home on Sadleir Avenue in Heckenberg before tyre screeching and the sound of a smash can be heard.
Police believe “high speed” was a contributing factor and are interviewing a 20-year-old man who handed himself into police on Saturday afternoon.
Alina had picked up her brother from a shift at his new job at Kmart when a black Mercedes SUV, which NSW Police say was “reported as stolen”, collided head-on with their Toyota Echo about 9.20pm.
After colliding with the Echo, the Mercedes then hit a stationary Toyota RAV4 before flipping on its side, at which time the three men inside the Mercedes “escaped” from the vehicle and fled the scene in a Volkswagen Golf.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Anthony Boyd told the media that the Mercedes had been travelling at a “very high speed” in the moments leading up to the incident.
“The evidence at this stage suggests the Mercedes had crossed to the incorrect side of the road attempting to overtake a car in front of it,” he said.
The two occupants of the RAV4 were uninjured.
On Saturday morning the devastated mother of the victims, Angelina Kauffman, visited the site where her children were killed, less than 200 metres from their home.
She was seen crying at the scene as she spoke of her heartbreak.
“My kids are gone and I have to live the rest of my life with no kids, why? I don’t understand,” she said.
Alina was taking her brother to get food after picking him up from work when they were killed, according to 9 News.
Police continue to look for the three men who fled the scene.
“It’s abhorrent behaviour,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Boyd told media on Saturday.
“I think the nature of the collision itself is totally unacceptable … and then to flee the scene and not offer assistance to people in the vehicle.
“You may have been able to provide some form of first aid which may have assisted in saving their lives.”
At around 11.30pm the Golf was stopped by police and an 18-year-old man, believed to have been driving the vehicle, was arrested.
He was taken to Liverpool Police Station where he underwent mandatory testing before being released without charge.
Police are yet to confirm the relationship between the man and the occupants of the Mercedes, but understand the two cars were “in close proximity” to one another.
The three men who “escaped” from the crashed Mercedes were not in the Golf when it was located by police.
On Saturday, NSW Police confirmed a 20-year-old man had been arrested at Liverpool Police Station about 2pm after handing himself in.
No charges have been laid and the investigation is ongoing.
A crime scene has been established at the site of the crash and the Mercedes, seized by police, is undergoing forensic examination.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Boyd confirmed police had information from witnesses as well as a person of interest.
Anyone with information, dashcam or mobile footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
