SA Police use real stories of families left behind after fatal crashes in confronting new road safety campaign

This is the most confronting road safety campaign ever put to air in SA – real stories of people left behind after a fatal crash. See it for the first time here.

The family and friends of 18-year-old car crash victim Nicholas Holbrook have bared their souls in a series of 13 heart-rending SA Police road safety advertisements.

In what likely will be the most confronting campaign ever put to air in South Australia, the dead teen’s mother Glynis, father Michael and first responders have recalled the scene on the evening of June 11, 2009.

Viewers may find the moment Mr Holbrook’s best mate recalls the crash the most awkward to watch.

Phillip Wright was driving the car and speeding when it slammed into a tree on West Lakes Boulevard. Wright pleaded guilty to causing the death by dangerous driving and received a suspended 2½ year jail term.

Father Michael Holbrook and fatal crash victim Nick Holbrook pictured together three months before the crash on March 2009. Supplied by family

The remains of the car, destroyed in the crash that killed Nick Holbrook in 2009. Picture: SA Police

“His parents came in next to my (hospital) bed and said I had just killed my best mate,” Wright says in one advertisement, choking back tears.

Mr Holbrook’s father in another says: “I stood at the foot of his bed. I remember thinking to myself ‘Why wasn’t it you? Why did you have to kill my kid?’.”

Mr Holbrook’s mother also talks of her heartbreak.

“I remember in the weeks and months after Nick died thinking ‘I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to live with this pain’,” she says in one video.

“It is always there every birthday and every Christmas, there is someone missing.

“Life is so precious and so fragile, it can be gone in seconds and that lasts forever.”

First responders in other videos describe the carnage they faced when they arrived at the scene.

“This particular scene was quite catastrophic. The impact was so great it tore the car apart,” firefighter Mark said.

“The passenger had moved from where he started in the front seat to the back seat.”

SA Police’s media road safety unit recently filmed the never-before-seen 30-second interviews, which will go to air on Sunday.

They are designed to highlight the long-lasting and far-reaching effect of every road trauma on all those involved.

Michael Holbrook, the father of 18-year-old Nicholas Holbrook, who was killed in a car accident, shares his story to help educate students. Picture: Mark Brake

Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams said the emotional campaign was a stark reminder to all drivers that one irresponsible decision could forever affect many lives.

“As well as depicting the mental prison that these people now live in, the campaign asks every South Australian a poignant question ‘What damage will your driving do?’,” she said.

“It warns that one stupid act on the road can cause lifelong damage and nobody wants to live with that guilt.”

The campaign will also appear on billboards, in shopping centres, online and on social media, targeting those who are most represented in road trauma offences.

Police Minister Vincent Tarzia said the advertisements showed the flow-on effects of road deaths.

“These are real stories told by real people – emotive and powerful content that will reach all drivers on different levels,’’ he said.

“Watching this campaign resonated with me on so many levels – as a father-to-be, a son, a brother, a friend.

“I can’t see a situation where people wouldn’t be affected in some way by these heartbreaking stories.”