A 22-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested after a six-week investigation into the party gatecrashing death of teenager Nathan Garriock.

The 17-year-old was hit by a car alleged to have been deliberately driven into a crowd of people in the early hours of the morning outside a party in Sydney’s west.

Garriock died in hospital from head and chest injuries after he and seven other people were hit by the car, which rammed into partygoers in the early hours of June 15.

He was also hit with a hard object during a melee with gatecrashers. The apprentice tiler, said to always have a smile on his face, loved his ute, his motorcycle and playing soccer.

His death received widespread coverage in Sydney and provoked considerable community outrage.

Detectives tracked the 22-year-old man, who is believed to have been the driver of the car, to a property at Eatonsville near Grafton in northern NSW.

The man will appear this morning in Grafton Local Court, where he will face multiple charges of assault, dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.

Police said it had been a difficult investigation, with about 150 people interviewed.