One teenager is dead, a second is fighting for his life and a third is on the run after a high-speed crash in Melbourne involving a stolen car.
Victoria Police says the six teens in the car may have earlier robbed a bottle shop and could be linked to the notorious Apex youth crime gang responsible for a spate of home invasions and car thefts.
The stolen Kia ran two red lights and narrowly missed a car before hitting another vehicle and flipping onto its roof in Narre Warren South on Saturday at 7.30pm.
A 17-year-old boy was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital but died on Sunday morning.
Another teenager is fighting for his life in The Alfred hospital.
Police are yet to confirm his identity but say he's an African male in his late teens.
"We'd be really keen to hear from anyone who has a relative who didn't come home last night," Detective Inspector John Cormack told reporters on Sunday.
Two other teens in the Kia - a 19-year-old male from Hampton Park and 15-year-old boy from Narre Warren - were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The 19-year-old has since been transferred into police custody while the younger teen remains in hospital under police guard.
Two others crawled out of the car on Saturday night and fled.
A 15-year-old Hampton Park girl handed herself in on Sunday.
But a white male, thought to be aged in his late teens, remains on the run.
Police believe the Kia was stolen earlier in November.
Alcohol was found at the crash scene and investigators are examining whether the booze could be linked to a theft earlier on Saturday night.
Officers on a side street saw the speeding car moments before the crash but weren't in pursuit.
"They just happened to be there at the same time," Det Insp Cormack said.
The driver of the other car involved - a man in his 20s - was taken to Dandenong Hospital with minor injuries.
The 17-year-old's death comes less than a fortnight after Luke Lee, 15, died when the unregistered car he was illegally driving smashed into a tree in Sunshine West.
Four other teenagers in that car - all under the age of 17 - were hospitalised with two girls suffering life-threatening injuries.
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