A man has been charged with dangerous driving occasioning death after four people died in a two-vehicle crash on the NSW central coast.
At about 9.20pm on Friday, emergency services were called to the Newell Highway, Tomingley, about 35km south of Dubbo, to find a Toyota Hilux utility and a Toyota Hiace van had collided.
Two men in the ute, 19-year-old Lochie Jacobs and 18-year-old Joey Urban, along with a couple in the van, 57-year-old Sue Tait and her husband Graham, also 57, died at the scene.
A 23-year-old man who was driving the ute was taken to Dubbo Hospital with suspected leg injuries.
On being discharged on Monday, he was charged with four counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, driving in a dangerous manner, not wearing a seatbelt properly fastened and driving with passenger seatbelts not properly fastened.
The man was given conditional bail to appear before Dubbo Local Court on October 21.
Tributes have poured in for the two teenagers and the married couple in the wake of the accident, as police investigate what led to the fatal collision.
‘RIP Lochie, give your dad the biggest hug, he will be so proud of the young man you have grown to be,’ one loved one wrote.
‘Last night the world lost a beautiful young man. Two years ago, I attended your father’s funeral but I never thought I would have to go to your funeral Lochie,’ another said.
Some of the debris from the crash remained on the side of the highway on Sunday, where friends of the teenagers’ began to lay flowers in honour of the best mates.
Mr Urban’s sister remembered him as the ‘best brother a sister could ask for’ and said she would ‘drink a few Tooheys’ on his behalf.
‘I love you so incredibly much, you will be missed by so many,’ she wrote.
Another friend said they can ‘rest easy, beautiful boys’.
‘The world is so cruel at times! Too young,’ they wrote.
Mr Jacobs had run an agricultural business, Jacobs rural contracting, since April after finishing school at St Stanislaus’ agricultural College in Bathurst.
His final post to social media on Wednesday urged his followers to donate to his friend’s fundraiser for mental health.
Mr Urban was known as an up-and-coming bull rider and ‘one of the funniest buggers’ among his friends.
Mrs Tait was a teacher at Parkes Early Childhood Centre and had worked there for 17 years.
‘Sue has been working at PECC for 17 years, she was known for being a strong constant backbone of PECC who thoroughly enjoyed coming to work each and everyday,’ the centre said in a tribute posted to Facebook.
‘Her husband Graham was a well respected and experienced coach driver.
‘They sadly leave behind five children who need our love and support at this time, they range in age from 26 to 16.’
A GoFundMe has raised over $11,000 in a matter of hours to help support the Tait’s children.
‘My thoughts are with everyone and all the families affected by this horror,’ local MP Stephen Lawrence said on Sunday.
‘I know the Parkes community will rally around your children.’