The teenager charged over the fireball crash on Sydney Harbour Bridge is a former private Catholic schoolboy sucked into the ‘eshay’ youth subculture.
Christopher Walker, 19, was pulled from the wreckage of an allegedly carjacked Toyota Kluger moments after it careered head-on into a van during the morning commute on March 7.
Police released a picture of his distinctive hand tattoo in a bid to identify the Queenslander before he appeared in court from his hospital bed last week.
The teen only got inked days earlier while on a trip to Sydney – against his family’s wishes – with his much older half-brother, Rory Norris.
Former private Catholic schoolboy Christopher Walker, pictured here with his older half-brother Rory Norris, had been sucked into the so-called ‘eshay’ youth subculture
Teenager Christopher Walker, charged over last week’s fiery crash on Sydney Harbour Bridge, had been in Sydney with his older half-brother Rory Norris against his family’s wishes
His parents had not heard from him since he left home two weeks before, until police called to tell them about the Harbour Bridge inferno.
His car dealer father Chris Walker described his son as a ‘very good kid’, devout Christian and ‘a beautiful, brilliant boy who will change the world’.
Acquaintances told Daily Mail Australia the youngster ‘was a great kid about seven years ago, but eshay has wrecked all that’.
‘The bigger story is how eshay culture is infiltrating the elite private schools now,’ they said.
Christopher Walker was a former Catholic private schoolboy and described by one acquaintance as ‘ a great kid’ before embracing the eshay lifestyle
His parents had not heard from Christopher Walker (pictured right ) since he left home two weeks before with his half brother Rory Norris (pictured centre), until police called to tell them about the Harbour Bridge inferno
‘Years ago it was just low socio-economic areas… now the Great Public Schools [of Queensland] and private schools are losing students to a s**t and perverse culture.’
Nationwide, many Australian youths are embracing life as an ‘eshay’, causing havoc at train stations and shopping centres, while proudly donning crossover bags and bad haircuts.
The eshay movement has gained traction across the country with its teenage members identified by their matching designer sportswear and Nike TN sneakers.
Christopher Walker’s family insist their son was strongly anti-drugs, but his father admitted a long-running family feud may have triggered a breakdown in his son before the devastating accident.
‘If you ever want a right hand man, that’s my young man Christopher,’ Mr Walker, of Sunnybank Hills, in Brisbane, told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Anything like this is completely out of character for him.’
Christopher Walker, 19, was pulled from the wreckage of a carjacked Toyota Kluger moments after it careered head-on into a van and exploded in a dramatic fireball
Police allege the Kluger was stolen from Sydney’s CBD moments before it was caught on dashcam footage racing across the bridge at high speed and slamming into oncoming traffic.
The Monday morning rush hour was brought to a standstill as a 27-year-old tradie was cut free from his van, with two other cars also wrecked in the smash and strewn across the highway.
Mr Walker, a car dealer, last week said his son had only been in Sydney for less than a fortnight before the accident and had yet to explain what had happened.
But he insisted: ‘He’s really remorseful. He’s just worrying, not for himself, but for the others who were impacted.’
Police had to release a picture of his distinctive hand tattoo to try to identify him before he appeared in court from his hospital bedside
A 27-year-old van driver had to be cut free and Monday morning’s rush hour was brought to a standstill with two other cars also wrecked in the smash and strewn across the highway
The former Clairvaux MacKillop College pupil had not been in touch since arriving and his parents said they had no clue about his activities in Sydney.
‘We had no idea where he was or what he was doing,’ said Mr Walker. ‘I tried to stop him from going but there was nothing I could do.
‘The first I knew of the accident was when I saw some stuff in the newspaper and thought, “Jeez, that’s not good.” Then we got a phone call from police.’
Even the picture of the elaborate tattoo art on his son’s hand did not raise the alarm with his parents as the teen had only got the inkwork after arriving in Sydney.
‘That is very new,’ he said. ‘We didn’t know about it.’
The teen’s uncle is Magistrate Robert Walker of Queensland’s Magistrates Court who served on the state’s powerful Crime and Misconduct Commission.
Robert Walker has since spoken to his son in hospital but failed to get many answers.
‘He has no memory of it,’ he told Daily Mail Australia. ‘I don’t know what happened to him. Chris has never been one to use drugs. Never.
‘He actually got into fights at school against drugs. He got into a punch up in the toilet block at Clairvaux MacKillop because some kid was smoking marijuana in there.
‘He hated it, absolutely hated it. But if he has [taken drugs], or something’s gone wrong with him that’s a reflection on others.
‘Maybe it was drugs, maybe he just had a mental breakdown because of the family feud… and because of me because I was so distraught about it all.’
The teenager’s distraught father Chris Walker believes a long-running family feud may have triggered a breakdown in his son before the devastating accident (pictured, Chris Walker and his wife on their wedding day alongside brother Robert Walker, uncle of the accused teen0
Police allege the Kluger had been stolen from Sydney’s CBD moments before it was caught on dashcam footage racing across the bridge at high speed and slamming into oncoming traffic
The devastated family is now waiting for further updates from their son after being unable to get any information from authorities.
‘He’s in a very bad way in hospital and that’s all I know,’ his father said.
‘I can’t get much out of him but I know he’s not going to be a paraplegic or a quadriplegic and I know that he’s not burnt.’
Walker was treated for suspected head injuries and remains under police guard at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
Devastated father Chris Walker (pictured) is now waiting for further updates from his son after being unable to get any information from authorities
He was charged on Wednesday with assault with intent to steal a vehicle, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and negligent driving.
He appeared at Central Local Court in a bedside hearing later that afternoon.
The teenager did not apply for bail, which was formally refused, and will next appear in Central Local Court on March 23.
His father added: ‘He’s got no-one there with him – no girlfriend or partner and we’ve not heard anything from the relative he went down there with.
‘He must be lonely and scared right now. I would be – even at my age, I would be as well.’
On Wednesday, Mr Walker advised anyone with any information about his son to get in touch with police.
On Wednesday, car dealer Chris Walker, pictured, advised anyone with any information about his son to get in touch with police