A man has been charged with manslaughter after he allegedly stole a Ferrari and crashed into a metal barrier while fleeing from police in Perth, killing his female passenger.
The luxury sportscar crashed and erupted in flames near the intersection of Vincent Street and Charles Street in North Perth yesterday, 100 metres away from where it had been spotted by officers seconds earlier.
Police said the vehicle had been reported stolen from outside a cafe in West Perth about an hour beforehand.
A woman, believed to be aged 40, could not be rescued from the burning wreckage and died.
Major Crash Investigators have charged the alleged driver — a 38-year-old man from Karrinyup — with manslaughter, stealing a motor vehicle and no authority to drive.
He has been refused bail and is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court next month.
"The man remains in hospital being treated for burn injuries he received in the crash," a WA Police spokesman said.
Police said while the woman had not yet been formally identified, her family had been told of her death.
'The whole thing was engulfed'
The blaze sent thick plumes of black smoke across the busy intersection and nearby Beatty Park.
Linda Di Lello and her son, Max, were nearby when the sportscar crashed and caught fire.
"I thought they were gone. I thought they were dead for sure. Because it was instant — it was so big, the whole thing was engulfed," Ms Di Lello said.
"It was the scariest thing we'd ever seen and having it running through your mind, thinking is anybody else caught up in it … it's just the scariest thing to think about," Max said.
WA Police Inspector Dave Brierley said it was unclear what exactly caused the death, as the matter is subject to an inquiry.
"Attempts were made from car fire extinguishers which were unsuccessful … it burned quite quickly and police were unable to get one of the people out of the car," he said.
Detectives from the WA Police Internal Affairs Unit are also investigating the incident.
