00:00About 1.30 a.m. this morning, a fully marked police vehicle from the South Sydney Police Area Command
00:05was responding urgent duty with lights and sirens activated to a reported vehicle theft at Glebe.
00:13Tragically, as the vehicle was travelling along Gibbons Street near the intersection of Regent, it has collided with a tree.
00:21As a result of that collision, a 20-year-old female constable, Mia Lay, received fatal injuries and passed away
00:28at the scene.
00:30The 24-year-old driver received facial injuries and has gone to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
00:36To me as parents, to me as family, friends and loved ones, our deepest thoughts, sympathies and condolences are with
00:45you.
00:46There is nothing I can say easily that takes the pain away, but please know that Mia was a loved
00:52police officer.
00:54Mia had been in the New South Wales Police for 16 months.
00:58She's shown exceptional promise and was well-loved through the South Sydney Police Area Command.
01:04She would have been an outstanding police officer and to lose her life, both in its prime and just at
01:10the infancy of becoming a police officer, is a terrible tragedy.
01:15To me as colleagues, to those who she worked with directly, to those she went through the police academy with,
01:21and to the broader policing family, our thoughts are with you.
01:27Today is a terribly difficult day.
01:33As police officers, we understand the risk of what we do, we put our lives in the way for the
01:39safety of the community, to prevent crime and to make sure the community is safe.
01:46Terribly, on some of those days, some police officers pay the ultimate sacrifice.
01:52To Mia, thank you for your courage, thank you for choosing to join the New South Wales Police Force, and
01:59thank you for serving the community of New South Wales.
02:03You will not be forgotten.
02:05But to our police officers, I ask that you look after yourself today.
02:10Remember Mia, and that she was doing your proud.
02:14Remember that she was serving the community of New South Wales, which is what we are sworn to do.
02:21A critical incident investigation has commenced, assisted by the crash investigation unit.
02:27It is important that we understand the circumstances of the collision leading to Mia's untimely death.
02:33We will get to the bottom of it, but at this stage it is still premature to understand exactly what
02:38caused that collision.
02:42You
