On the 28th of March 2025, outside St Edmund's College in Griffith, Canberra, what should have been a normal school morning turned into absolute carnage. At around 9:10 a.m., 32-year-old Taylor Christian Hassall was behind the wheel of a stolen green Holden Commodore station wagon traveling at speed through a 40 km/h school zone. Moments later, he simultaneously struck two teenage boys standing on the median strip. One was thrown approximately 9 m. The other landed 31 m from the point of impact. Both were left critically injured, but this story began hours earlier. At around 1:30 a.m. in Sutton, New South Wales, Hassall crashed a stolen Ford Falcon while disqualified from driving. Later that morning, CCTV captured him entering a green Holden Commodore parked at a childcare center. An 8-year-old girl was still inside the vehicle. After realizing she was there, he allowed her to get out before driving off. Police later tracked the stolen vehicle using an AirTag left inside the car. The footage shows the Commodore moving between New South Wales and the ACT, mounting grassy median strips, narrowly missing other vehicles, striking a barrier outside Queanbeyan South Public School, overtaking into oncoming traffic, and speeding through heavy congestion. Then came the school zone. Hassall entered the 40 km/h zone in Canberra Avenue at speed. The two boys were standing on a refuge island outside St Edmund's College. Within seconds, both were hit. The Commodore did not stop. Hassall continued driving into Manuka before the stolen vehicle eventually came to a halt. He attempted to flee. Nearby tradies who had witnessed the crash chased him down and physically restrained him until police arrived. I HAVE TIME. ON YOUR FRONT. ON YOUR FRONT. ON YOUR FRONT. ON YOUR FRONT. STAY. YES. ALL RIGHT. YES. YES. MATE, STOP. YOU'RE NOT HELPING. OKAY, EVERYONE STOP. PLEASE LET THE BOYS HELP ME. MATE, lie on your front. >> Yes, okay. LIE ON YOUR FRONT. OKAY. PUT YOUR HAND BEHIND YOUR BACK. NOW. >> YES. HE'S DONE. He's done. You're under arrest. Yes, I know. You do not have to say or do anything but anything you do say or do may be used in evidence. Do you understand? >> Yes. Yes. Yes. I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. I just want to get some breath. A COLD DRINK, PLEASE, MAN. 1 and 1 2, I have one male in custody. Yes. Can I please get act test rolling this way? I'm I just I just want to let me out so I can breathe. Please. Please don't kill me. Stop. Stop. Yeah. Listen to me. You You I'm going to roll you on your side. Do you understand? >> Yes. Yes. Okay. Yes. Roll Rolling towards me. Understand? Yeah. 1 2 3. Roll Put your hands in front of you. >> Yeah, I can't. My hands Your legs, sorry. Put your legs in front of you. I just want to breathe this way. Okay. We're going to sit you up. Thank you. If you move, you will go back on the ground. Do you understand? >> Yes. I think I'm going to be sick. I didn't hurt anyone. What's your name? I don't know if I hurt anyone. What's your name? Taylor Hazel. Taylor Hazel? >> Yeah. What's your date of birth? 16th Sorry? 16th 16th of the 3rd? Yes. Sorry. I think that's two I think there's two kids there, man. Save me. I think I hit one of these kids, man. I really think I hit one of these kids. Mate, again that caution still applies. We are audio and visually recording. Do you understand? Yeah. Oh. Oh, no. Please, go away. Please, go 18181, we were last house stating he's hit a child. We do currently have anyone else to stay with him so I can go check. I need another unit here now. I don't know. I don't know. [ __ ] I need some I don't know. I'm not going to give you anything. Can you switch You know what Those cuffs are not coming off. Do you understand? >> I know that. What's your number? No. No. Mhm. 18181, we are currently Just give me 1 second. Sorry, mate. What's the church? Um It's St. Christopher's Cathedral. Okay. >> 52 Franklin Street. Uh 18181, we are 52 Cathe- uh sorry, Franklin Street. It's St. Christopher's Cathedral. We are in the car park currently. Please, go away. Please, go Are you good here? I'm good. I'll wait in here. Um I'm right out here. I was I was in the office up here. >> Okay. No worries. You guys interested in the side of possible? Sorry, beautiful. Thank you. Do you have another truck coming? Yeah, I've got another truck coming. Just wave him in for me. Taylor, are you eating? You guys push yourself much, mate. Man. This man. Do you need to give up? You good? How's it going? He's good. He's Shut the [ __ ] Guys, sorry body camera is dressed on. Um I'm good at the moment. Yeah. I've got one just in here if you need it. Yeah, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Okay, thank you. Guys, you need to go back. Yep. Yeah, no, that's all good. That's all good. Yeah, thank you. Guys, did you witness anything? No, but I asked some of these ladies who were on the street and they gave me some information as to what happened. They're standing there if you want to get it from them directly. Yeah, beautiful. So so like where the where are the ladies? Um just they were just about to call. Oh, she's just there in the pink shirt with the mask on. Okay. All right guys, just take that back for me. All right, good. Yep. You want to explain what you want to do? Um, just for your awareness, um, he said to us he's [ __ ] up his foot. Okay, just check his foot. He's good. Yeah. I need you to get statements off of people. Yeah. Um, so there's Any of them left? Yeah, they left. Yeah? No, anyone left here? No. No. All right. Can I get you two to start organizing, getting witness details? Um, anyone who actually saw anything of interest, get a quick, um, statement on your BWC. What sort of, um, condition is he in? He's bleeding, but he's [ __ ] up his foot. Yep. All right, let's get him to the watch house. >> In the courtroom, the ACT Supreme Court heard the devastating impact of what occurred that morning. One mother described receiving a phone call where all she could hear was screaming. She rushed to hospital and was given 2 minutes to kiss her 15-year-old son before he was taken into emergency surgery. She described the next 8 and 1/2 hours as the longest and scariest of her life. "This was not an accident," she told Hazel. "You chose to get behind the wheel of a stolen car. You chose to hit my son and his friend, and you chose to drive away." But, the sentencing hearing did not only focus on Hazel's conduct. Prosecutor Tamzin Lee raised the actions of certain police officers involved in his arrest. The court heard Hazel was initially cooperative. He was seated and cuffed behind his back, under control. Defense solicitor Sam Lynch submitted that Hazel gave no physical or verbal indication he intended to flee or resist. His position, he said, was one of submission. However, when members of the Australian Federal Police Tactical Response Team arrived, footage shows one officer responding to Hazel saying, "I'm done," with the words, "No, you're effing not." Court documents reveal the officer placed his hands around Hazel's neck and drove him to the ground. Prosecutor Lee told the court the conduct must be denounced, could not be endorsed, and did no favors to the victims. The court accepted Hazel had suffered what was described as extra-curial punishment as a result of the injuries caused during that arrest. Following the hearing, the AFP [music] confirmed its Professional Standards Team investigated the officers involved. The conduct was found to be in breach of AFP Professional Standards. [music] Sanctions are expected. Hazel addressed the court himself. "I have been the sole cause of ruining numerous people's lives, including three young children and their families. My actions were careless, selfish, erratic, dangerous, and gutless. He said he would engage in drug and alcohol programs while in custody. However, prosecutors challenged the sincerity of his remorse. The court heard he had received seven custodial charge notices while in jail. And he used methamphetamine weekly when he first entered custody. This was not Hazel's first time making headlines. Back in 2017, Victoria police were searching for him over alleged armed robberies in Melbourne and regional Victoria. He had the words family and believe tattooed across his face. In a tweet at the time, Victoria police dubbed him a family guy. A strange headline in hindsight given the gravity of the offenses now before the ACT Supreme Court. Hazel pleaded guilty to multiple dangerous driving charges, including two counts of culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm. His sentencing decision has been reserved. We will update viewers on his sentencing once it has been handed down over on our Patreon. Thanks for watching. Subscribe for more [music] public interest court reporting and consider supporting Police Vision Australia on Patreon for early access to stories across the nation. >> [music]