The fatal crash on the Barton Highway in January 2024 resulted in the deaths of two teenagers. Photo: ACT Policing.
CONTENT WARNING: This article may distress some readers.
The 14-year-old boy who killed two teenagers in a fatal crash on the Barton Highway was granted bail before he went on to commit a home invasion.
The break-and-enter he committed in NSW was revealed when he was sentenced for killing two of his passengers, 19-year-old Joshua Stewart and 14-year-old Jeremiah-Tama Hemmingsen, by crashing a stolen car he was driving on the Barton Highway in January 2024.
The now-15-year-old driver was sentenced to a total of five years and three months’ jail on Tuesday (13 May), to be suspended after he serves two years in prison.
“It’s an insult,” a woman called from the packed gallery in the ACT Supreme Court after Justice David Mossop announced his sentence.
Earlier, the judge said the driver had been granted bail for the crash before he went to NSW and committed a break-and-enter in November 2024.
Three youths broke into a home and one of them, not the driver, attacked a sleeping person with a hammer.
The driver had a knife during this home invasion and was convicted and handed a jail sentence for his involvement.
Court documents show he stole a Toyota Avalon on the evening of 17 January 2024, then a few hours later drove it through a red light and crashed into a Toyota Hilux on the Barton Highway.
Three passengers were in the stolen car, being Mr Stewart, Jeremiah-Tama and another 14-year-old boy.
“It’s my fault,” the driver was heard saying after the crash. He had driven the car through the intersection at 71 km/h.
Mr Stewart died when he arrived at hospital, while Jeremiah-Tama was taken to hospital with a traumatic brain injury and died from his injuries in August 2024.
Earlier this month, the families of the victims told the court about how the driver’s actions had tragic, life-altering consequences for all of them.
“Any summary will be inadequate to capture the expressions of grief that they contain,” Justice Mossop said about their statements.
He said specific mention had to be made of the trauma suffered by Jeremiah-Tama’s family, who moved to Sydney to be with and care for him and had to deal with months of him being hospitalised before he died.
“It swallowed up their life,” he said.
Jeremiah-Tama Hemmingsen tragically died months after the car crash on the Barton Highway. Photo: Supplied.
The judge also mentioned Mr Stewart’s mother, who spoke about her indescribable and never-ending pain.
Justice Mossop said the driver didn’t have a licence, ran a red light on a main highway and put the lives of many other road users in danger before his conduct resulted in the deaths of two people.
But he noted there was no evidence of erratic or intentionally dangerous driving before the crash, and the driver was young, immature and had an unstable family background.
The driver wrote a letter to the families of his victims, in which he said he regretted what happened.
“I can’t promise I will not make more mistakes in life, but I will try my best to change my life for the better,” he said.
The driver pleaded guilty to and was convicted on two counts of culpable driving causing death. He spent more than 200 days in custody before his sentencing.
Justice Mossop said it was appropriate to hand him a substantial period of imprisonment, which would be partially suspended, so he could demonstrate he was capable of not offending again in the future.
The driver’s prison sentence will be suspended from September 2026, when he will be 17, if he enters into a good behaviour order for the remainder of his total sentence, with an additional condition that he be supervised by authorities when in the community.
Jeremiah-Tama’s mother issued a statement after his sentencing in which she said her son “did not get justice today”.
“While the judge acknowledged our family’s pain and suffering, the laws for dangerous driving are an insult to victims and their families,” she said.
“The laws must change.”
The driver legally cannot be named due to his age. Jeremiah-Tama has been named with permission of his family.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact:
Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line – 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
Kids Helpline – 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia – 1300 789 978.
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