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'Pissed as f***': Driver bragged about being drunk hours before deadly crash

A young hoon driver who killed his friend in a high-speed crash in Melbourne's southeast. had bragged about being drunk just hours before the tragedy.

Joseph Kirpichnikov, 22, was allegedly speeding when the car spun out of control, hit a ditch and flipped along Brunt Road in Beaconsfield, killing passenger Michael Berwick.

"I just heard a roar, like a car that had just accelerated," a witness told Seven News reporter Christie Cooper.

"It took off; two or three seconds later I heard a loud bang."

The same car was captured on camera being driven dangerously, and the video uploaded to Instagram just a few days ago by the driver.

Driver Joseph Kirpichnikov (pictured right) bragged about being drunk just an hour before a deadly crash that killed his friend, Michael Berwick (left). Photo: Facebook
Driver Joseph Kirpichnikov (pictured right) bragged about being drunk just an hour before a deadly crash that killed his friend, Michael Berwick (left). Photo: Facebook

Early this morning, witnesses watched in horror as the vehicle became air born.

Two hours before the crash, the driver allegedly posted on Facebook 'Pissed as f***' with Michael Berwick at Loco Thursdays.

The post has since been removed.

When emergency crews arrived at the crash scene around 2.30am the driver was still conscious.

SES volunteers described it as one of the most difficult rescues they have had to perform in years.


Devastated family and friends Friends visited the crash site throughout the day to lay flowers and pay their respects.

Social media was too flooded with tributes.

"RIP to the maddest bloke I had the pleasure of knowing," one friend wrote.

Joseph was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital and remains in a stable condition.