A woman has been killed in a horror crash just weeks after she became engaged.
Jessie Van Der Draay, 32, was riding home on an electric scooter when her e-scooter collided with a ute at a busy intersection on the Great Western Highway in Lithgow, west of the Blue Mountains on Friday afternoon.
She was unable to be revived at the scene, despite the desperate efforts of witnesses and SES volunteers who rushed to her aid.
Ms Van Der Draay, who worked for a refrigeration and air-conditioning company, has been hailed by her grieving fiancee as ‘one of a kind who cannot be replaced’.
‘Jessie was, and is, loved and respected by many people … she always was there to help anyone who asked,’ Kayla Bunting posted online.
‘There was rarely a time you’d see Jessie without tools in her hands or building something new that she’s thought of. She was a woman of many talents.’
First responders spent an hour trying revive Ms Van Der Draay, the Daily Telegraph reported.
‘The first responders did all they could. They weren’t giving up easily, they were trying for over an hour. It is heartbreaking,’ one woman said.
The male ute driver, 44, was taken to Lithgow Hospital for mandatory blood and alcohol testing.
A crime scene was established and forensically examined.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash continues.
Anyone with information or dashcam is urged to call Crime Stoppers.