Richard Pusey allegedly posted images to social media and fled after truck ploughed into four officers on Eastern Freeway

This article is more than 4 months old

This article is more than 4 months old

A Porsche driver who allegedly fled the scene of a horrific accident that killed four Victoria police officers in Melbourne has been identified as Richard Pusey.

The 41-year-old is alleged to have taken pictures of the crash and posted images to social media before leaving the scene of the accident which happened on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway at Kew about 5.40pm on Wednesday.

The crash was the biggest loss of police officer life in Victoria’s history. Pusey later handed himself in to police and was arrested.

On Thursday the Victorian police commissioner, Graham Ashton, said two officers intercepted a Porsche 911 that was reportedly travelling at 140km/h on the freeway. Dashcam footage published by the Herald Sun shows the car speeding down the highway minutes before it was pulled over by police.

The two officers drug-tested the 41-year-old male driver. After he allegedly returned a positive result, the officers decided to impound the car, Ashton said. Shortly after two members from highway patrol were called to assist at the scene, a large refrigerated truck belonging to a poultry company drove into the four officers.

“It is still quite early in the investigation to describe exactly the movements of that vehicle … but the truck itself appears to have moved from one of the traffic lanes in the freeway into the emergency lane and has travelled a short distance in the emergency lane at around about 100km/h and slammed into the rear of the highway patrol vehicle,” Ashton said.

Ashton said two senior constables, a woman and man, and two male constables were killed. One was relatively new to the force, he said.

The driver of the Porsche, later identified as Pusey, is alleged to have posted photographs to social media of the scene before he fled on foot, Ashton said. He urged the public not to share the photographs.

The cousin of one of the officers killed spoke to Melbourne’s 3AW on Thursday morning. The man, named Trevor, said his relative left behind a wife and children and had served in the force for eight years.

“I sat down and watched the news and thought: ‘My cousin runs up and down there’ … Just a split second and everyone’s life changes,” he said.

“I feel sorry for the good samaritans that were there, that will be with them forever.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Victoria police chief commissioner Graham Ashton speaks during a press conference in Melbourne on Thursday morning. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

The male truck driver was taken to hospital under police guard with non-life-threatening injuries. Ashton said he had a medical episode at the scene, and would be tested for the presence of drugs and alcohol as part of the inquiry. It was unclear whether he experienced the episode before or after the accident.

Police executed a warrant to search the truck drivers’ Cranbourne property on Thursday morning. Ashton said police hoped to interview him later in the day.

“We don’t know at this stage what has caused him to drive that truck into our police members,” Ashton said. A crime scene has been established and the incident is being investigated by the homicide squad and the major collision investigation unit.

The freeway’s lanes were closed in both directions between Bulleen Road and the Chandler Highway on Wednesday night, with drivers told to find an alternative route.

Pat Mitchell (@patty_mitchell) Flowers left outside Boroondara Police Compex. @VictoriaPolice mourning four of their colleagues.



The Eastern Freeway will remain closed in both directions throughout the morning peak. @3AW693 pic.twitter.com/Z9tSuqjLoc

Ashton said it was a “very tragic night” for Victoria police, and he was not aware of any other incident where four officers were killed at once.

“It’s a reminder for the dangers of the work police do every day,” he said.

Tributes flooded social Wednesday night, including from prime minister Scott Morrison.

“Awful, heartbreaking news that four police officers have been killed while on duty in Melbourne tonight. My deepest sympathies go out to their families, fellow officers and friends at this terrible time,” Morrison said on Twitter.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Emergency services work at the scene of the collision where four police officers died. Photograph: Scott Barbour/AAP

The Victorian police minister, Lisa Neville, said on Wednesday: “It is a dangerous job as a police officer but we still want every police officer to come home safely to their families at night. That didn’t happen this evening for four individuals and their families. They’re heroes. They are heroes. They’re Victorian heroes tonight,” she said.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, released a statement saying the officers were “heroes” whose death would be a cause of sorrow for all Victorians

“Four families’ hearts are breaking. Our hearts are breaking with them,” Andrews said.

“We grieve alongside them – just as we grieve with every member of Victoria police and every member of our emergency services family.”

Both Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg also paid tribute to the dead officers during a press conference in Canberra.

The state police union released a statement saying it was “shocked and immensely saddened by the deaths of four of our dedicated members, who were killed while protecting the community on the Eastern Freeway this afternoon”.

Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) This morning Police and PSO recruits, instructors and staff at the Victoria Police Academy formed up on the parade ground (for a minute’s silence) to pay their respect and honour their fallen friends and colleagues who so tragically died in the line of duty yesterday evening. pic.twitter.com/DKv9P7lI7y

“We are providing immediate and ongoing support to the colleagues and families of those members.

“This is a brutally sad reminder of the danger police face in the course of their service, every minute of every shift. We mourn their loss, we grieve with their families and colleagues and we will never forget them.”

Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the deaths would “shock police in stations across Victoria”.

“These police officers were doing something that we do 10 times, 20 times, 30 times a shift – intercepting a motor vehicle on the side of the road, this is the bread and butter of policing,” he told reporters.

“This isn’t stuff that you go to do and expect to be killed doing. But each and every time a police officer does that for the next little while, they’ll have this in the back of their minds, there’s no doubt.”

Neville said the tragedy hurt the whole community and she encouraged people to extend their support to the force.