Fatal crash happened 15 minutes into new year

THE world looked bright for two best friends as they cheered in the new year on Monday, but 15 minutes after midnight the pair were involved in a horrific crash leaving one 17-year-old girl dead and the other fighting for her life.

A 17-year-old girl died when a car she was a passenger in crashed into a parked ute. Picture: Steve Harris

THE world looked bright for two best friends as they cheered in the new year on Monday, but 15 minutes after midnight the pair were involved in a horrific crash leaving one 17-year-old girl dead and the other fighting for her life.

Today the driver of the vehicle the girls were travelling in, Yassin El Seidi, 18, was formally charged in Parramatta Bail Court with four offences including dangerous and negligent driving causing death and grievous bodily harm at Brunker Rd, Yagoona in western Sydney.

The two girls involved in the accident can’t be identified.

Police allege El Seidi was driving a Toyota Scarlet when it crashed into a parked Mazda ute, killing the 17-year-old girl in the front passenger seat and seriously injuring her 16-year-old friend seated at the back.

El Seidi’s case was adjourned as he underwent surgery in hospital and will return to court at a later date.

The father of the surviving girl, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, said his only focus was praying for his daughter’s survival.

She is understood to be in a critical condition with multiple facial fractures and a head injury.

“At the moment we are too upset to talk to anyone. Our daughter is fighting for her life and that’s our main focus,” he said.

A 16-year-old girl is fighting for her life. Picture: Steve Harris

Meanwhile, friends of the dead teenager laid flowers at the crash site and took to Facebook to express their grief and shock.

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Tiarne Brownhill wrote “though we have lost our beloved (friend), we should all cherish the beautiful memories we have had with her up till the recent event.

“She was one of those people who kept to their beliefs, she was a very funny person who loved to laugh at stupid things … She was not shy to give an input on how she thought or felt.”

The girl’s death was the first of 2018 but was quickly followed by two more deaths on Monday with a 75-year-old man dying in a single-car rollover in the state’s northwest and a male pedestrian killed near Newcastle.

The deaths bring the total number of people killed on NSW roads to 28 during the police Operation Safe Arrival from December 15 to January 1.