Police said the Nissan Navara left the road and hit a tree in Buxton, about 40 kilometres north-west of Wollongong, about 7.50pm yesterday.
The passengers - three girls, two aged 14 and a 15-year-old, and two boys, aged 15 and 16, all died at the scene.
Blaise Cox, a friend of one of the victims, visited the site of the crash this morning with her family.
"I'm feeling a bit shocked and still finding it hard to believe it," she said.
"She was my best friend and she was like an older sister to me."
A nurse living nearby heard the bang and rushed to the scene in her own car, performing CPR on one of the victims.
Witness David Pace said he was watching television at home when the crash happened right in his driveway.
Pace said he had heard a "loud bang".
"Came outside, I seen the tub of a car on my driveway, and looked to my right and there was the remainder of the car," he said.
"And, yeah, seen five dead bodies in it."
9News understands the five victims all attended Picton High School, nearby.
"The Picton High School community is devastated by the death of five young people in a vehicle accident last night," a NSW Department of Education spokesperson said in a statement.
"Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and friends of the young people who lost their lives.
"Counsellors and extra staff will be on site at school today to support students and staff.
"We will also be working with local primary schools and providing extra wellbeing support where needed."
Superintendent Paul Fuller said it was one of the worst accident scenes he'd seen in 38 years and some of the first responders were likely to have known the victims.
"It's a horrific accident scene and a traumatic event like this will have a devastating impact on the families, friends and the local community," he said, overnight.
"We believe a number of the children go to the local high school.
"We have spoken to the principal of the high school to facilitate some counselling at the school tomorrow when the students arrive."
Fuller said the driver, an 18-year-old man who escaped life-threatening injuries, had been arrested and taken to Liverpool Hospital for mandatory testing but not charged.
He remains in hospital this morning, receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
9News understands he returned a negative reading on a blood alcohol test.
Fuller said specialist police were working to identify the victims and determine the cause of the crash.
"A tragedy of this magnitude, it's gonna have ripple effects through the — for their family, friends and for the local community," he said.
Local councillor Michael Banasik said the crash was a "terrible tragedy" for the tight-knit town of 400–500 people.
"It's devastating for Buxton and the general community, you know, it's just horrible," he told 9news.com.au.
"Buxton's a great place, small, small town and yeah, this is a terrible tragedy, no matter where it's happened."
Banasik, who struggled to put the impact of the accident into words, said what little was known about the crash was enough to "make everybody sick in the stomach", adding that the families involved would be devastated.
A medical team was flown in by helicopter to treat the victims, firefighters said.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijwFodHRwczovL3d3dy45bmV3cy5jb20uYXUvbmF0aW9uYWwvYnV4dG9uLWNyYXNoLW51bWVyb3VzLWNhc3VhbHRpZXMtYWZ0ZXItc2VyaW91cy1jcmFzaC1zb3V0aHdlc3Qtb2Ytc3lkbmV5L2Q1ZDgzMWE4LWY5MjktNGRjYS1hZjc0LTZkNzVkOTViMmFkNNIBAA?oc=5
2022-09-06 23:09:24Z
1559553804
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Five teens killed in horror crash attended same school - 9News"
Post a Comment