A Melbourne mother has recalled the horrifying moment her teenage daughter thought she was going to die as two car-loads of men rammed and chased the car she was sitting in.
The woman, who spoke anonymously due to fears for her family’s safety, said the incident unfolded in the early hours of Sept. 16, when her daughter, two other teenage girls and a 21-year-old male driver decided to drive to a McDonald’s restaurant for some food.
The friends parked to eat their food in Deer Park in Melbourne’s west, but soon noticed they were being watched by two car-loads of men they described as having a Sudanese appearance, wearing masks across half their faces.
“[My daughter] automatically thought, ‘They’re gang members,'” the mother told The Epoch Times.
“We know there’s a lot of racial attacks from them on the white community.
The Toyota Aurion had a tyre blown out in the attack, a Melbourne mother says. (Courtesy of Melbourne resident)
The mother recounted her daughter’s experience, saying the gang of men hit the Toyota Aurion five times, flattening three tyres in the process, and causing one to blow out entirely.
In an attempt to escape, the four youths accelerated up to 120 kilometres per hour on the 70 kilometre stretch of Station Road.
The occupants of the car made several calls to the Triple Zero emergency number, eventually pulling into a 7/11 convenience store and waiting 20 minutes for police to arrive.
The mum said her daughter thought she was “going to die.”
“The kids haven’t been out since,” she said.
One police car attended and they transported the four friends home—only one was willing to make a statement to police. The three women did not do so out of fear of repercussions.
Visible damage on a Toyota Aurion following an alleged attack in Melbourne. Courtesy of Melbourne resident)
“Why do we have to walk around feeling hyper-vigilant? Why should we feel like we’re on curfew?
“Some of the shopping centres are full of gang members, and the young people growing up think you have to know someone [in a gang] to be safe.”
Victoria Police issued a social media statement on Sept. 17, saying men driving two stolen cars had rammed a police car in the suburb of Ripponlea on Sept. 16, the same day the four passengers say they were attacked.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said they were unable to provide further details on the case to The Epoch Times.
The Epoch Times also contacted Victorian Police Minister Paul Edbrooke for comment—a senior media advisor said the premier’s office would respond on Oct. 12, however, no correspondence was received.
Crime is a major policy focus leading into the November state election.
According to the Victorian government, 624,624 offences were recorded in the year ending June 2026—about 8,679.6 offences per 100,000 residents.
“Being tough on crime is one thing, but you need to be tougher on the causes of crime,” said Labor Premier Ben Carroll in comments to the Victoria Council of Social Service.
The conservative-leaning One Nation has pledged to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 20, introduce mandatory minimum sentences for those who assault emergency workers, and establish a 24-hour-a-day court.
Monica O’Shea contributed to this story.
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