Tarneit, Melbourne: Teen jailed over deadly crash, 'cowardly' bashing
A teenager has been lambasted for cowardly and inhumane behaviour as he was jailed for killing his friend and maiming another months earlier.
Months after a brutal assault confined an unsuspecting stranger to lifelong disability, a teenager upended the lives of another family.
The 18-year-old was jailed on Tuesday over the death of his friend and an earlier episode of violence in Melbourne in 2025.
“It cannot be forgotten that a life was lost and another was irrevocably altered as a result of (your offending) over two (incidents),” Victorian County Court Chief Judge Amanda Chambers said.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The offender watched with arms crossed over video link from prison but did not show any emotion as he was jailed for eight-and-a-half years.
A non-parole period of four years and six months was set.
Drunk and driving unlicensed, the then-17-year-old was speeding in a stolen SUV in the early hours of May 18, 2025, when he ran a red light and crashed into an oncoming car.
His vehicle spun out of control and smashed into a pole at an intersection in Tarneit in Melbourne’s west, causing the driver - who had been released on probation nine days earlier - to be ejected from the car.
Friend and rear passenger Kevin Lomena-Olenga, 16, was found unconscious half-hanging out of the car and later died in hospital from a traumatic head injury.
The driver, who had been released on parole nine days earlier and suffered pelvic injuries, pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death, unlicensed driving and theft.
Kevin’s mother Bora Mireye told of her grief, saying she cries all night when she dreams of him and questions whether God is punishing her.
Three months before the fatal crash, the teen driver had been involved in a violent assault which left Valentino Arop with a lifelong disability.
He admitted to affray and intentionally causing serious injury.
The then-juvenile was with five others when they came across Mr Arop and his friends inside a Flemington housing tower car park in the early hours of February 6, 2025.
After an argument, the teen king-hit Mr Arop.
The subsequent brain injury was so catastrophic that the victim, aged in his 30s, was placed in a coma and now suffers a permanent disability, relying on family and support workers for everyday tasks.
Judge Chambers described the offending as “plainly very serious” and noted it ended in “catastrophic consequences”.
“That you continued to kick and assault (Mr Arop) at a time he was lying unconscious on the ground was cowardly and inhumane,” she said.
While the offending occurred before Victoria’s “adult time for violent crime” laws took effect, crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC called for an adult sentence due to the grave and horrifying consequences of the offending.
Defence barrister Naomi Smith argued her client would be vulnerable in custody and had endured a dysfunctional childhood, complete with a mother struggling with substance abuse and homelessness and an absent father.
He also acquired a severe brain injury from a separate car crash in 2023.
Her client, who cannot be identified as he was a juvenile at the time of the offending, had acknowledged the tragic consequences of his actions, Ms Smith said.
Judge Chambers recommended the Adult Parole Board consider transferring the 18-year-old, who has already served 383 days in pre-sentence detention, to a youth detention facility to serve out his sentence.
