A teenager is dead and another has been critically injured after police used tyre spikes to end a 100-kilometre pursuit of an allegedly stolen car.

The car crashed and rolled in the historic outback town of Bourke, in north-west NSW, about 1.30am on Friday after a 45-minute police pursuit.

Police immediately helped the four occupants of the car but a 17-year-old died at the scene.

Three other boys, aged 13 to 16, were taken to hospital. One, a 14-year-old, was flown to Sydney Children’s Hospital in a serious condition.

The crash’s fatal consequences were highlighted by the NSW opposition as it questioned the state government over growing community concerns about youth crime.

Attorney-General Michael Daley said he did not know the circumstances of the youth involved in the “horrendous event”.

“I just want to extend my sympathies, both to the young person who passed away and to his friends and family,” he told a budget estimates hearing on Friday.

Liberal MP Susan Carter pressed Daley about what he was doing to “protect these teenagers from themselves and … the community from the outbreak of this youth crime”.

“Youth crime is now having fatal consequences,” she said.

Daley said the issue was hugely complex and there were no quick fixes.

“Simply making bail laws tougher won’t fix it,” he said.

“Simply making penalties tougher won’t fix it.”

The state government introduced controversial youth bail law changes in 2014. They made it harder for 14- to 18-year-olds to be released on serious charges while out on bail for similar offences.

The shift has been cited as a driver of increasing custody rates for youths in the past year.

The crash in Bourke came more than two hours after police were alerted to a robbery at a service station in Narromine in central NSW.

Four teenagers left the scene in an allegedly stolen vehicle, police said.

The car was spotted and pursued for a short distance near Nyngan before a longer pursuit began at Coolabah about 12.45am.

Road spikes were used at Coolabah and then again on the outskirts of Bourke.

The car continued through the Bourke township before crashing and rolling about 1.30am.

The police investigation will be subject to an independent review.

-AAP