Bilpin crash: P-plater Jordan Brown, 20, charged with driving dangerously

JORDAN Brown was allegedly under the influence of drugs when his 4WD spun out of control and collided with another car on the Bells Line of Road at Bilpin, killing his three close mates.

THE P-plater behind the wheel in a crash that killed three of his mates and injured an elderly woman west of Windsor has been charged over the deaths and driving under the influence of drugs.

P-plater Jordan Brown, 20, was behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Outlander which allegedly spun out of control and collided with a Subaru Impreza on the Bells Line of Road, Bilpin about 3.30pm on August 30.

Northern beaches friends Lachlan Burleigh, 17, Ben Sawyer, 19, and Luke Shanahan, 21, were killed after the back seat they were sitting in bore the brunt of the impact.

Bilpin car crash survivor Jordan Brown has been charged over the fatal accident. Picture: Facebook

Brown and front seat passenger Daniel Richards, 19, suffered minor injuries while 84-year-old female Subaru driver Barbara McLaren suffered serious injuries.

Crash investigators charged Brown with three counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and drive vehicle with illicit drug.

He was granted conditional bail and will appear in Windsor Local Court on November 12.

The crash sparked an outpouring of grief after the tight knit group of mates were wiped out coming around a right hand bend on the way back from a dance festival “Psyfari” near Lithgow.

The youngest of the group Oxford Falls Grammar HSC student Lachlan Burleigh was remembered as a “beautiful boy that had everything going for him”.

Luke Shanahan.

Lachlan Burleigh.

Following the crash Mr Burleigh’s cousin Kellie Turner said he was someone people loved to be around.

“He was one of those kids that was so care free and easy going that he had that vibe that people just wanted to gravitate to him. He was so loving and caring of anyone,” she said.

“He wanted to be a marine biologist and was going to uni in 2017 to live there to pursue his dream.”

Ben Sawyer’s older brother Matt speaking at his funeral, which was attended by NSW Premier Mike Baird, in Manly’s St Mary’s Catholic Church said he always made people happy.

”You are able to bring smiles to so many people in my short 19 years with you,” he said.

“Words cannot comprehend Ben as a person. He would always bring a smile to your face.”

Ben Sawyer.

Mourners gather at Ben Sawyer’s funeral. Picture: Toby Zerna