A boy has been killed and three other teens injured in a crash involving a stolen car after an earlier attempted carjacking.
Police said a stolen grey Skoda sedan pursued a Toyota sedan in an apparent attempted carjacking along Derrimut Road at Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne's southwest in the early hours of Friday morning.
The Skoda crashed into the Toyota's rear but it managed to flee.
The stolen car then crashed into a Ford sedan and Ford Ranger a short time later, causing it to roll several times.
One of the occupants, a teenage boy, died at the scene.
A 17-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries under police guard.
Another 16-year-old girl who suffered minor injuries has since been released from hospital and was expected to be interviewed on Friday morning.
Those inside the other three vehicles suffered minor injuries.
Traffic between Hogans Road and Heaths Road was closed on Friday morning.
The crash comes after laws came into effect in Victoria on March 6 allowing children as young as 14 to be sentenced as adults for more types of violent crimes, including carjackings.
Youth crime has been in the spotlight following the fatal stabbing of off-duty security guard Aidan Becker at Mernda train station, in Melbourne's northeast, on March 6 after he rushed to a 14-year-old boy's aid.
A group of teenagers allegedly pursued Mr Becker and attacked the 22-year-old as he escorted the boy from the train station.
Four male teens have been charged with murder and armed robbery.
A vigil has been planned for Mr Becker at the train station on Friday evening.
North Melbourne Football Club has joined the chorus of tributes to Mr Becker, who was a supporter of the AFL club.
"Compassionate, courageous and gone too soon," the Kangaroos said.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has sent the government's Violence Reduction Unit to the area and met with Mr Becker's family on Tuesday.
A GoFundMe page launched to support his family had raised almost $100,000 as of Friday morning.
Youth crime has been a focus ahead of the November 2026 election in Victoria, with alleged offender incidents involving 10 to 17-year-olds up 8.5 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September.
Some 1176 children were arrested a combined 7075 times, while recorded offences involving children accounted for 60 per cent of carjackings.
Updated Victorian crime rates data will be released on Thursday.