The partner of police constable Mia Lay has urged officers to slow down after she was killed in a Sydney crash while responding to a reported vehicle theft.
Lay, 20, died instantly when the marked police car in which she was a passenger crashed in Redfern at about 1.30am on Friday. Her colleague, a 24-year-old male constable who was driving, was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital with facial and leg injuries and was in a stable condition.
Daniel Vasquez visited the crash site on Saturday with officers from Lay’s Redfern station, who laid flowers in her memory. He said he had been asked to speak on behalf of Lay’s mother, Tamara, and the rest of her family.
“Mia loved what she did in the police, she was happy in the police, she was good at her job and she was loved by everyone in the community,” Vasquez said.
“She was the happiest girl I’ve met – when she was with me, when she was at work – and I’d ask everyone to remember how stunning and beautiful she was.”
Investigation into Sydney police crash
The officers had been carrying out an urgent response to a reported vehicle theft in nearby Glebe. The marked car was travelling with its lights and sirens activated, allowing police to exceed the speed limit under Australian law.
Detectives will investigate whether speed contributed to the crash. The vehicle was split into several pieces in the impact, with debris, including a wheel, found up to 100 metres from the scene.
Investigators conducted skid testing near the crash site on Friday to assess the road surface and measure friction. The incident is being examined by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, the state’s policing watchdog.
Lay had joined the force less than 18 months ago and had recently returned to Redfern police station after a three-month secondment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where Vasquez is stationed.
Vasquez urged his “brothers and sisters in the blue” to take her death as a warning. “Going urgent isn’t worth your life. Slow down, look after your family,” he said.
