Victoria Police's Chief Commissioner says he is disgusted that the driver at the centre of the crash that killed four officers took gruesome photos of their bodies and posted them online before fleeing the scene on foot.
The 41-year-old driver of a Porsche 911 was pulled over for travelling at 140kph on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne around 5.40pm on Wednesday before a truck crashed into the group of police standing at the roadside, killing four officers.
The Porsche driver, who was said to have an 'extensive criminal history' and tested positive for drugs at the scene, was arrested at Chemist Warehouse in Collingwood about 9.30 this morning after discussing the accident in 'explicit detail' to staff, 7News reported.
He previously made contact with police and was urged to turn himself in. He is currently assisting the Homicide Squad with the investigation.
The driver of the truck - who had a 'medical episode' - remains under police guard in hospital.
Three male officers - including one in his first week in the job - and a female senior constable who were standing in the emergency lane on the side of the freeway were killed when the out-of-control truck veered into the group.
Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the driver took photos of the dead police and posted them on Facebook.
A source told Daily Mail Australia the pictures were mostly of the wreckage, and had also been posted to Snapchat.
'As chief commissioner, to have four officers killed last night with someone who has clearly been driving erratically on the freeway with an extensive criminal history it disgusts me,' Commissioner Ashton said.
'Today, when I'm spending time with the family members of those deceased officers, I can tell you it will absolutely disgust them.'
He went on to say the driver's actions were 'very, very low', made worse by the decision to share photos of the grisly scene to friends.
'If I wasn't wearing the uniform of Chief Commissioner, I would give you far more colourful language,' he said.
'We will definitely be able to piece together 99.9 per cent of this. We have got a lot of information to go through in the next few days.'
Josh Prestney, a 28-year-old constable who had only started in the road policing department on Tuesday was killed at the scene.
Mr Prestney only graduated from the academy in November, and was working a short stint in the unit before he was to be transferred to Kew police station in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
Another officer had reportedly been part of the team for eight years - leaving behind a devastated wife and children, his cousin, Trevor, told 3AW on Thursday.
'It's just devastating. They're not a number, they're a name, they're a family member, they're a friend, they're a cousin, they're an uncle and a brother, or a husband, or a wife,' he said.
Commissioner Ashton said they expected to interview the driver of the truck later on Thursday.He is from Cranbourne and we did a warrant through the night at his premises,' he said. 'What was found at that premises is still the subject of ongoing investigation.'
Police believe the truck veered into the emergency lane and travelled 'some distance' before colliding with the cars - and officers - at about 100km/h.
It comes as chilling footage emerges of the Porsche speeding down the same highway a month before it was involved in the accident.
Motorist James Tsagros saw the exact same car 'flying' down the same freeway at 'scary' speeds on March 21.
When officers from the road policing drug and alcohol unit pulled the Porsche over on Wednesday night, they made the decision to impound the luxury sports car.
They called a nearby highway patrol car for backup. As the officers arrived, the refrigeration truck ploughed into all three stopped cars, killing the two senior constables and two officers as they stood in the emergency lane
Shattered police colleagues and emergency workers across Australia have since paid tribute to the fallen officers in what is the greatest loss of police life in a single incident in Victoria's history.
The ages of the female senior constable, one male senior constable and one of the male constables killed have not yet been released.
Chief Commissioner Ashton said detectives were trying to piece together what led to the crash, but labelled the tragedy a 'crime'.
When asked why homicide detectives were at the scene on Wednesday night, he replied: 'Those officers (who died) have been victims of a crime.'
The incident represented the largest loss of life for Victoria Police in a single incident, eclipsing the loss of three officers gunned down by bushranger Ned Kelly in the state's north-east in 1878.
Word quickly spread throughout the force as grieving officers changed their Facebook profile photos to one of a fallen angel in honour of their dead colleagues.
'It's absolutely f***ed… Trying to find out exactly what happened… A real horrible and shocking tragedy,' one shattered officer wrote.
'No words,' another posted alongside a photo of the Victoria Police emblem.
Many of the killed officers' colleagues changed their Twitter profiles to the same fallen angel picture.
www.dailymail.co.uk
The 41-year-old driver of a Porsche 911 was pulled over for travelling at 140kph on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne around 5.40pm on Wednesday before a truck crashed into the group of police standing at the roadside, killing four officers.
The Porsche driver, who was said to have an 'extensive criminal history' and tested positive for drugs at the scene, was arrested at Chemist Warehouse in Collingwood about 9.30 this morning after discussing the accident in 'explicit detail' to staff, 7News reported.
He previously made contact with police and was urged to turn himself in. He is currently assisting the Homicide Squad with the investigation.
The driver of the truck - who had a 'medical episode' - remains under police guard in hospital.
Three male officers - including one in his first week in the job - and a female senior constable who were standing in the emergency lane on the side of the freeway were killed when the out-of-control truck veered into the group.
Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the driver took photos of the dead police and posted them on Facebook.
A source told Daily Mail Australia the pictures were mostly of the wreckage, and had also been posted to Snapchat.
'As chief commissioner, to have four officers killed last night with someone who has clearly been driving erratically on the freeway with an extensive criminal history it disgusts me,' Commissioner Ashton said.
'Today, when I'm spending time with the family members of those deceased officers, I can tell you it will absolutely disgust them.'
He went on to say the driver's actions were 'very, very low', made worse by the decision to share photos of the grisly scene to friends.
'If I wasn't wearing the uniform of Chief Commissioner, I would give you far more colourful language,' he said.
'We will definitely be able to piece together 99.9 per cent of this. We have got a lot of information to go through in the next few days.'
Josh Prestney, a 28-year-old constable who had only started in the road policing department on Tuesday was killed at the scene.
Mr Prestney only graduated from the academy in November, and was working a short stint in the unit before he was to be transferred to Kew police station in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
Another officer had reportedly been part of the team for eight years - leaving behind a devastated wife and children, his cousin, Trevor, told 3AW on Thursday.
'It's just devastating. They're not a number, they're a name, they're a family member, they're a friend, they're a cousin, they're an uncle and a brother, or a husband, or a wife,' he said.
Commissioner Ashton said they expected to interview the driver of the truck later on Thursday.He is from Cranbourne and we did a warrant through the night at his premises,' he said. 'What was found at that premises is still the subject of ongoing investigation.'
Police believe the truck veered into the emergency lane and travelled 'some distance' before colliding with the cars - and officers - at about 100km/h.
It comes as chilling footage emerges of the Porsche speeding down the same highway a month before it was involved in the accident.
Motorist James Tsagros saw the exact same car 'flying' down the same freeway at 'scary' speeds on March 21.
When officers from the road policing drug and alcohol unit pulled the Porsche over on Wednesday night, they made the decision to impound the luxury sports car.
They called a nearby highway patrol car for backup. As the officers arrived, the refrigeration truck ploughed into all three stopped cars, killing the two senior constables and two officers as they stood in the emergency lane
Shattered police colleagues and emergency workers across Australia have since paid tribute to the fallen officers in what is the greatest loss of police life in a single incident in Victoria's history.
The ages of the female senior constable, one male senior constable and one of the male constables killed have not yet been released.
Chief Commissioner Ashton said detectives were trying to piece together what led to the crash, but labelled the tragedy a 'crime'.
When asked why homicide detectives were at the scene on Wednesday night, he replied: 'Those officers (who died) have been victims of a crime.'
The incident represented the largest loss of life for Victoria Police in a single incident, eclipsing the loss of three officers gunned down by bushranger Ned Kelly in the state's north-east in 1878.
Word quickly spread throughout the force as grieving officers changed their Facebook profile photos to one of a fallen angel in honour of their dead colleagues.
'It's absolutely f***ed… Trying to find out exactly what happened… A real horrible and shocking tragedy,' one shattered officer wrote.
'No words,' another posted alongside a photo of the Victoria Police emblem.
Many of the killed officers' colleagues changed their Twitter profiles to the same fallen angel picture.
Porsche driver involved in crash that killed four cops is arrested
Police colleagues and emergency workers have taken to social media to pay tribute to the fallen officers in what is the greatest loss of police life in a single incident in Victoria's history.
