GoFundMe launched to help daughters of Penola crash victims Trevor and Catherine Schutz to keep family farm afloat

The daughters of a Mount Gambier couple killed in a horrific crash on Easter Sunday are travelling back and forth from Adelaide to keep the family farm running.

The Adelaide daughters who lost their parents in a tragic double-fatal car crash on Easter Sunday have “put their lives on hold” to keep their family’s farming legacy alive.

The two grieving women have cut their jobs back to part time and are travelling back and forth to the Mount to maintain and keep their parents’ cattle farm running.

As caring friends help out on the farm, another one – worried about the travelling and financial cost – has now started a fundraiser as the pair also keep paying their own mortgages and rent.

Trevor and Catherine Schutz, 54 and 62, from Suttontown, Mount Gambier, were killed in a three-car crash at the intersection of Riddoch Hwy and Three Mile Lane, near Penola, just after 5pm on Easter Sunday.

Emergency services and witnesses rushed to their aid but the couple, who were driving a black Ford sedan, could not be saved.

Trevor Schutz from Suttontown, near Mount Gambier. Picture: Facebook

Trevor and Catherine, who have been remembered by the Mount Gambier community as “warm and friendly people”, left behind two adult daughters and their Suttontown cattle farm where the couple had been living and working for more than 20 years.

With both the daughters living in Adelaide, their friend Danielle Nowak has started a GoFundMe to help them keep the family farm running “during this really difficult time”.

“On Easter Sunday, my best friend and her sister found out that both their parents, Cathy and Trevor Schutz, were killed in a tragic car accident in the South East,” Ms Nowak wrote.

“Left behind is not only an incredible amount of heartbreak but also a cattle farm near Mount Gambier.”

Mr and Ms Schutz were dedicated farmers and “very passionate about their jerseys” according to former Jersey Australia President Peter Ness, who knew them through their former involvement in the jersey cow industry.

Mr Ness said in the time he knew them, the couple always worked hard to balance their farm and family because both were “very important to them”.

Crash scene near Penola where two people died. Picture: 7NEWS Adelaide

Ms Nowak said since their parents’ tragic passing, Trevor and Catherine’s daughters have “put their lives on hold” to try to keep the family farm running.

“While they’ve had an overwhelming amount of support and volunteers to come and complete work on the farm, they both work and live in Adelaide and will be travelling down to the Mount, each on alternate weekends, to manage the farm,” she wrote

“They’ve also had to drop down to part-time work to accommodate this, meanwhile paying their own rent and mortgage.

“To help them out, I’ve started a GoFundMe to help pay for flights so that they are not on the road all the time.”

Ms Nowak said donations would go towards flights so the girls “can stay off the road as much as possible during this really difficult time”.

“They are two beautiful girls who would never ask for help but really need support at this time,” Ms Nowak said. “I know they will be grateful for any donation.”

Anyone who wishes to donate in support of the Schutzs’ daughters can do so by visiting the GoFundMe here.