A WHITE Holden Commodore has been seen fleeing the scene of a fiery fatal crash at high speed, with a critical investigation now underway.
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The driver crashed a stolen Ford utility while heading north on East Street in Albury about 1.30am on Monday.
The vehicle caught alight after hitting a tree and the 19-year-old driver, Shaun Crighton, died at the scene.
Friends and family members left flowers, empty cans of bourbon and cola, and cigarettes at the scene.
The vehicle had been reported stolen from Wodonga and Albury officers were alerted over the NSW Police radio system.
Critical investigations are launched when police are in some way involved, but they said there was no pursuit and lights and sirens had not been activated.
The car had been observed by officers, but Assistant Commissioner Peter Barrie said there was no chase.
“The vehicle had been seen in the area by police and as I said, left the roadway and came into collision with the tree, and that's then burst into flames and the driver has died at the scene,” he said.
The critical investigation was launched due to the car being stolen and reported to police, he said.
There is nothing at this stage to suggest the officers involved did anything wrong.
Two nearby residents said they saw a white Holden Commodore, which was about a decade old, speed away from the scene about a minute after the crash.
Palm Drive resident Steve, who asked for his last name to be withheld, said the vehicle was “flying”.
“I don’t know what the series of events were,” he said.
“I just heard the crash and saw police lights flashing, and the Commodore just came screaming down here.
“I don’t know how he made it through the roundabout.”
The man and his wife did not hear braking before the crash and there were no tyre marks left on the road.
The impact and explosion was so powerful, it shook the couple’s home.
His wife, Liz, said there was a “massive fireball”.
Wayne Gould, whose property backs onto the crash scene, could see flames up to 12 metres above the vehicle.
“There was a big boom about 1.30am last night,” he said.
“I jumped out of bed.
“I didn’t see anything, but the dog was going off out the back.
“I went out the back and I could see flames about 10 or 12 metres high.”
The victim is yet to be formally identified.
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission will monitor the investigation.
A spokeswoman said the commission would ensure police investigated in a “competent, thorough and objective manner”.