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Tragic crash claims life of teen just hours after gaining driver's licence


A teenage girl has died and two of her friends are in hospital just hours after she was handed her driver’s licence in WA.

The 17-year-old lost control of her car on White Hill Road in Bouvard, south of Mandurah, and flipped on the dirt track on Tuesday just before noon, police said.

The three girls in the car were all in Year 11 and celebrating the end of the school year with a day trip to the beach.

The 17-year-old driver lost control of her car on White Hill Road, Bouvard, and flipped on the dirt track on Tuesday just before noon. Source: 7 News
The 17-year-old driver lost control of her car on White Hill Road, Bouvard, and flipped on the dirt track on Tuesday just before noon. Source: 7 News

But the teen’s car flipped and rolled several times. She suffered fatal head injuries.

Her two passengers, both aged 16, managed to crawl out and one of them rang her mother, telling her they’d had an accident.

WA Detective Senior Constable Steven Morgan described the fatality as “just awful”.

“It’s a tragedy at any time, but coming up to this time of year where families want to be together,” he said.

The driver died from fatal head injuries just hours after getting her licence. Source: 7 News
The driver died from fatal head injuries just hours after getting her licence. Source: 7 News

Police said driver inexperience was most likely to have caused the crash on the unsealed, bumpy track.

The 17-year-old was not speeding and all three girls were wearing seatbelts, police said.

The two 16-year-old passengers are being assessed at Royal Perth Hospital and are believed to have suffered only minor injuries.