Fire Rescue Victoria responded to the Packham St incident at 2.34am after multiple 000 callers reported a car fire spreading to grass.
A witness at the scene with CCTV footage of the incident told The News later that same morning that the vehicle had entered a reserve on Packham St through a gap in the fence before allegedly performing doughnuts and flipping at around 2.15am.
He said “three or four” occupants allegedly exited the vehicle and, shortly after, another car arrived on scene via the same entrance before the first car became engulfed in flames.
Other nearby residents reported they had been woken by “five or six loud bangs”, which Shepparton police said were explosions caused by the fire in the vehicle.
“Firefighters arrived on scene within six minutes, and the incident was deemed under control at 2.46am,” an FRV spokesperson said.
Two fire trucks responded to the incident.
Police said the black 2026 Nissan Patrol Warrior was stolen from Melbourne in the past few weeks and had been in the Shepparton area in the past two weeks.
Police believe it had been involved in dangerous driving before this collision.
The vehicle had a ‘Warrior’ decal on the back of it, and police are looking for anyone who may have seen it being driven around in the past two weeks, or in the lead-up to or after Thursday’s crash, to contact them.
Anyone with information, or CCTV or dashcam footage should contact Senior Constable Tom Bennington at Shepparton Crime Investigation Unit on 5820 5777 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestoppersvic.com.au
22°C