The devastated family of Dunghutti teenager Jai Wright deserves truth, transparency and accountability, the Aboriginal Legal Service says.
ALS NSW/ACT Chief Executive Officer Karly Warner has backed calls for an investigation independent of police, following the death of the 16-year-old.
The apprentice electrician and much-loved teenager was seriously injured after the motorbike he was riding collided with an unmarked police car in Sydney's inner suburbs on Saturday morning.
He died at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
"We're devastated by the death of Jai Wright at 16 years old," Ms Warner told NITV's The Point program.
"The Aboriginal Legal Service is absolutely here to support the family and the community in any way we can.
"Jai's family and community deserve truth and they deserve transparency and accountability."
New South Wales Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Karly Warner has backed the family's calls for an independent investigation. Source: NITV News
'Police shouldn't be investigating police'
Ms Warner said there were "serious questions to be answered" about the tragedy.
"Police shouldn't be investigating police," Ms Warner said.
"How did Jai's bike and the police car collide, was there a chase, why have Jai's family reportedly received conflicting accounts of what happened?
"There are lots of things that the family deserve, lots of questions that they need to have answered.
"And it's really difficult both from an actual but also the perception for the family and for other families, to have trust in the system, when you have police actually investigating police.
"And so we are absolutely backing them and advocating for it to be informed by an independent investigation and to go ahead as soon as practicable."
Police said in a statement a critical incident team attached to Sydney City Police Area Command are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash on behalf of the NSW State Coroner.
The investigation will be reviewed by the Professional Standards Command and independently oversighted by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
Police said officers spotted two suspected stolen vehicles – a black Mercedes and trail bike – in nearby Newtown about half an hour before the crash, and later charged a teenage boy with the theft of the car.
Police said they were investigating any link to the collision nearby.
Dunghutti teenager Jai Wright loved sports, was an apprentice electrician and wanted to travel the world, his devastated family says. Source: Supplied
Family says there are inconsistencies
Jai's father Lachlan has called for a truly independent investigation, saying he had been told two versions from police.
He said the first advice from a senior Redfern police officer came just 45 minutes after the family was told about Jai's critical injuries.
"He was told that Jai was riding a motorbike down a bike lane and an unmarked police car was coming the opposite way and turned in front of him and he collided with the police car," Mr Wright said.
Later the same day, a police investigator told him a different version.
"He said the unmarked police car was parked behind an uber. And that Jai drove and lost control over a bump and basically went airborne into the car," Mr Wright said.
"I don't know. As soon as we heard that, obviously we were told something different before but didn’t match up, didn't sound right to us."
He said the family needed the truth.
Dunghutti boy Jai Wright was much loved by his family and friends. Source: Supplied
"We want to grieve Jai - it's a massive loss for our family and our extended family.
"We want to get through that, and to do that we need to get to the truth of what happened.
"There is no way we can move forward in our lives and try to live some kind of life without knowing what happened to our boy. It would eat away at us forever."
Both the family and police have appealed for anyone who may have witnessed the crash - at the intersection of Henderson and Mitchell Roads, Alexandria, at 7.35am Saturday - to come forward.
