Innocent driver killed in fatal crime spree in Adelaide

Two weeks ago, Jatinder Singh Brar was celebrating his graduation with a Masters of Accounting.

Today, his family is grieving another senseless loss on South Australia’s roads.

Mr Brar, 25, was driving a delivery truck, which was run off the road by a female driver in a stolen car at Salisbury South on Friday.

As Mr Brar’s mother in India mourns the loss of her son, the woman faces several charges stemming from a 24-hour crime spree, which ended with the tragic crash.

Mr Brar, who emigrated from his home in India’s Punjab state in December 2012, had been driving a Woolworths home-delivery truck part-time for two years as he finished studying.

Four months ago, he completed a Masters of Accounting at Flinders University and attended his graduation ceremony in mid-December.

Police on Friday struggled to get in contact with Mr Brar’s mother in India to give her the tragic news of her son’s death.

Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Noel Bamford condemned the actions of the woman, who sped away after the crash, as “irresponsible” and “unnecessary”.

“It’s a very sad and tragic loss and is totally unnecessary,” Mr Bamford said.

“(The crash was) totally irresponsible. Nobody deserves to die on the road particularly when they were acting as responsibly as the truck driver was. He was just going about his business and this is very tragic and unfortunate.”

SA Police Northern Districts detectives spotted a white Ford Territory speeding south along Port Wakefield Rd at Cavan at 11.45am on Friday.

The officers pursued the car but stopped the chase after only a few seconds because of the speed of the driver.

As the police helicopter prepared to take off, officers received reports the SUV had slammed into a Woolworths delivery truck on Kings Rd, only 200m from the intersection with Cross Keys Rd, just before noon.

The truck ran off the road and crashed into a tree, spinning around with the force of the crash and leaving the cab of the vehicle severely damaged.

Mr Brar died at the scene, which was only 200m from the Salisbury ambulance station on Bremen Drive.

The female driver sped away despite serious damage to the front of the SUV and was spotted on the Port River Expressway.

The police helicopter monitored the vehicle, which had been stolen from Golden Grove on December 28, and watched as the female driver pulled over on Belfast St, Taperoo, and walked away.

Police swooped and the 24-year-old woman was taken into custody.

She was last night charged with causing death by dangerous driving as well as driving dangerously to escape police pursuit. Further charges are expected to be laid over the coming days.

The crash happened near where mother of two Lucy Paveley was killed in August 2017.

“This is clearly not the first time we have had a serious accident involving criminal offences and I am minded of the fact that this is the same road where tragically another high-speed collision occurred involving a stolen car back in 2017,” Mr Bamford said.

A Woolworths spokeswoman said the company was devastated by the death of one of their employees.

“We are deeply saddened by this news and our thoughts are with the family of our driver and fellow team members,” the spokeswoman said.

“We will be providing our full support and assistance to all involved at this difficult time.” Mr Brar’s death takes the state’s road toll to two compared with zero at the same time last year.

Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to provide their details to police at the scene or via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au