BY all accounts, Xavier Burke was an excellent and well-liked student at Kempsey's Melville High School.
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A bright student, a peer leader and in the top academic class in Year 10, he also competed in State high school softball.
A four-day inquest into his death held in Port Macquarie in June was told the 15-year-old had a fascination with cars from an early age.
Xavier died from multiple injuries on July 10, 2017 at Macksville when the vehicle he was driving - during a police pursuit - crossed to the incorrect side of the road and collided with a B-double.
Deputy state coroner Magistrate Derek Lee made seven recommendations in his findings including, training to ensure police can clearly identify the offence that a person has committed, or attempted to commit, which has caused a pursuit to be initiated and consideration be given to making the smart push-to-talk function on police radios more broadly available.
Changes to the police's safe driving policy and explicitly addressing the use of non-police vehicles (including heavy vehicles) as a road block during a pursuit also formed part of the recommendations.
Questions were also raised during the inquest about the lack of available road spikes in the Macksville area.
The inquest was told that the collision occurred just north of the Macksville bridge, after the vehicle Xavier was driving had been pursued by a police vehicle for almost 30 minutes and over a distance of about 60 kilometres.
Joyride with friends
The inquest heard that Xavier was driving his father's Ford Courier, which he had taken from the family home in Kundabung a few hours earlier. He had arranged to go 'for a joyride' in his parents' vehicle with several friends.
Earlier in the evening two Kempsey police officers answered a call out to investigate a suspected stolen vehicle being used to gain entry to a truck yard on Bloomfield St.
It was later confirmed over the police radio that the allegedly stolen vehicle was a Toyata Hilux.
In one of his conclusions, Magistrate Lee noted that the evidence establishes that from an early point in the pursuit, and before the pursuit had reached Macleay Valley Way, (police) were in possession of information, by virtue of two conflicting registration details, which indicated that the vehicle being pursued was not the stolen Hilux.
After leaving his family home, Xavier picked up several friends before initially driving to a quarry west of Kempsey. During the return trip to town, the vehicle was observed by police who activated the warning lights.
On West St, the Courier stopped and all occupants except for Xavier got out of the vehicle, the inquest was told. Moments later, the Courier began to drive away and the police pursuit was underway.
The inquest heard that during the pursuit, the Courier was observed crossing to the incorrect side of the road and reaching speeds of about 140 kilometres per hour in a 100kph zone and 110kph in a 50kph zone.
The pursuit continued through Frederickton, north toward Macksville.
The inquest was told that police from Nambucca Heads had also responded to the pursuit and were travelling toward Macksville.
B-double stopped on bridge
At the southbound entrance to Macksville Bridge, police spoke with the driver of a northbound B-double truck, informing the driver that a police pursuit was in progress. The police asked the driver if he could wait and stop a southbound truck 'to block him (Xavier) in', the inquest was told.
The inquest was told that a B-double being driven south started to slow down to 60kph after hearing comments over the radio about the police pursuit and being aware of the approaching roadworks on the northern side of Macksville.
Xavier continued to drive through Macksville and, after reaching the bridge, the inquest was told the Courier crossed 'to the incorrect side of the road, and travel over a rise before it went out of sight'.
"As the Courier took the bend, at a point where it was underneath the overpass that was being built, Mr Moylan saw it (the Courier) cross the centre line into his lane," the inquest heard.
Despite Mr Moylan moving the prime mover further to the left of his lane, moments later the Courier collided head on with the front of the B-double.
Xavier sustained a massive head injury, collapsed lungs and numerous fractures in the collision.
Magistrate Lee noted that senior police had taken appropriate steps to contact Xavier's parents in person, providing information that was available at the time, and make arrangements for Xavier to be identified.
At the conclusion of evidence, Xavier's parents told the inquest about their desire for the learnings from the circumstances of Xavier's death to be used to prevent the possibility of other, similarly tragic deaths.
