Athelstone fatal crash victims named: Zarif Rahman and Thumith Chandrasena were only 17

The grief-stricken father of one of two teens killed on the weekend has revealed his 17-year-old son had only held his P-plate licence for three weeks.

The two teenage boys killed in a fatal crash in Adelaide’s northeastern suburbs have been named as The Heights students Zarif Rahman and Thumith Chandrasena.

The heartbroken father of 17-year-old Zarif described his son as a “caring, bright” individual who wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor.

Adelaide Hills general practitioner Taufiqur Rahman said a visit by police to his house at Rostrevor following the fatal accident at Athelstone on Sunday afternoon was something no parent should experience.

“It was news a parent never wants to hear,” he said. “This loss can never be recovered.”

Dr Rahman said he had last seen his son when he left to pick up schoolmate Thumith, also 17, for a weekly tutoring class at a nearby private tertiary college at Newton in preparation for sitting a qualifying exam to enter medical school.

Tragically, the two youths were killed three hours later when their car left Montacute Rd in wet and slippery conditions before going down a steep embankment and slamming into a large gum tree. Both died at the scene.

The girlfriend of Thumith Chandrasena at the scene of the fatal accident which claimed his life and that of his friend, Zarif Rahman. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Thumith Chandrasena’s girlfriend and her family lay flowers at the scene. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Surrounded in his loungeroom by friends from Adelaide’s Bangladeshi community, Dr Rahman said Zarif was a devout Muslim who regularly accompanied him to the Wandana Mosque at Gilles Plains.

“He was a very religious boy, a very caring boy, a loving boy,” he said.

Dr Rahman, who practises at Woodside, became tearful as he said Zarif was very close to his younger brother, Iztinab, 16, a student at Golden Grove High School.

“He was a loving brother, they were very close,” he said.

Dr Rahman’s friends variously described Zarif as “gentle”, “very smart” and “brilliant”.

“He was very good at making friends, he had many friends,” said one of them, who asked not to be named.

Among Zarif’s close friends was Thumith, orginally from Sri Lanka.

His grief-stricken girlfriend and her family were among those who placed floral tributes at the base of the gum tree on Monday. They were too distressed to speak to media.

Other mourners who placed bouquets of flowers throughout the day and early evening were senior students from the Heights School at Modbury, where both boys were in Year 12.

The Heights School issued a statement on Monday afternoon extending its condolences to the families of Zarif and Thumith.

“The school community is deeply saddened by the loss of two students in such tragic circumstances,” said a spokesperson.

“A range of support, including trauma counselling, is being made available to students and staff at the school.”

A Major Crash Investigation Branch officer takes measurements at the scene of the fatal crash on Montacute Road, Athelstone. Picture: Tom Huntley

The boys had been at the nearby Donash Education Centre on Montacute Rd for two hours receiving private tutoring before they went for a short drive into the Adelaide Hills in Zarif’s mother’s Holden Viva sedan.

The site of their crash was the location of another fatal accident in March last year when a 52-year-old motorcyclist left the road in almost exactly the same spot and hit another large gum tree.

Dr Rahman, who migrated with his family from Bangladesh in 2011, said his son had been on his Provisional One plates for three weeks.

“We had told him that he had to be careful and that he always had to have someone else with him,” he said.

Major crash investigators on the scene of the fatal crash on Montacute Road, Athelstone. Picture: Tom Huntley

Dr Rahman said Zarif had obtained his driver’s licence after taking professional lessons.

“He filled out his log book before doing VORT,” he said.

“He was only meant to drive to tutoring and take his friend back to his house at Athelstone.

“They must have changed their minds and gone for a drive up into the hills.”

Dr Rahman asked for photographs not to be published of Zarif, saying it was against his religious beliefs to show deceased people.

Donash Education Centre managing director Don Dissanayake said Zarif and Thumith were “conscientious” students who had attended tutorials every Sunday for several months.

“They both wanted to be doctors so they were getting ready for the UCAT test,” he said.

“They were very studious and focused on their studies.”

Mr Dissanayake said the two teens had left soon after their weekly two-hourly lesson finished at 1.40pm on Sunday

Friends look at the floral tributes at the scene of the fatal collision at Athelstone.

.

The accident occurred about 20 minutes later, less than 5km away from the tutoring facility in a block of offices also occupied by local Liberal MP Vincent Tarzia.

Debris remained at the scene on Monday, including part of a windscreen wiper lodged in the trunk of the large river red gum.

A nearby resident, who asked not be named, said he was up the back of his large property when he heard a loud bang around 2pm on Sunday.

“I heard the bang, then sirens,” he said.

The man said he went down and saw a large number of emergency vehicles, including the local SES and CFS brigades from Athelstone.

“It was just chaos,” he said.

“There was nothing I could do so I stayed away.”

The man said he was among the first responders when the motorcyclist crashed last year.

“He came flying around the corner and ended up in a tree not far from the one which was hit yesterday,” he said.

“He was 52, married with kids.”

Police on the scene of the fatal crash on Montacute Road, Athelstone. Picture: Tom Huntley

The two fatal accidents happened on a stretch of Montacute Rd which is a 60 km/h zone and the responsibility of Campbelltown Council.

Both involved a sweeping left-hand corner which has a steep camber

Two speed signs are 500m from where the accident happened.

The neighbour said he often heard cars and motorcycles speeding on the road, especially on Sunday afternoons.

“It happens all the time, they fly up and down,” he said.

“That corner has a really steep camber then it just drops off into an embankment.

“Perhaps they need to look at putting some railing along the side of the road.”

The man said there also needed to be an increased police presence in the area on weekends.

“You never see the police and there is no point calling them because by the time they get here whoever is speeding is long gone,” he said.

The camber of the bend on Montacute Road at the scene of a fatal accident near Maryvale road in Athelstone. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Montacute Rd and nearby Gorge Rd are notorious for speeding, with serious accidents a regular occurrence on both roads, which connect the northeastern suburbs to the Adelaide Hills.

Major Crash Investigation Branch officers on Sunday examined the scene in a bid to determine the cause of the crash.

Campbelltown mayor Jill Whittaker said the community was “deeply affected by the sudden loss of lives of two boys on the verge of adulthood”.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the two young men,” she said.

Ms Whittaker did not respond to questions about whether the council had concerns about the safety of the corner where the accident happened or reckless driving on the road.