OPINION: Young deaths cut even more deeply

WHENEVER anyone loses their life in a road accident it is a tragedy, but when they are especially young it cuts very deeply in a community.

The car involved in yesterday’s fatal crash being removed from the scene. Picture: Cathy Adams

WHENEVER anyone loses their life in a road accident it is a tragedy, but when they are especially young it cuts very deeply in a community.

The quadruple fatality at Newrybar in the early hours of yesterday morning will weigh particularly heavily because of the ages of the car's occupants.

The crash victims were all aged between 17 and 22 and from the local area.

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Right now I am sure there are communities in Ballina, Skennars Head and Byron Bay that are in a deep state of shock.

At least when older adult drivers die in accidents on our roads, you can say they had a chance to experience life.

But when teenagers and young people are involved, they really haven't experienced much beyond childhood and school.

The Northern Star extends its sympathies to the families and friends of the victims.

It's hard to avoid the comparison between this crash and the tragic accident that killed four teenagers - Bryce Wells, Corey New, Mitchell Eveleigh and Paul Morris - on Broken Head Rd in 2006.

On both occasions it seems the accidents occurred when the driver attempted to overtake on a bend of a single-lane stretch of road.

The Broken Head crash sparked a nation-wide outcry at the tragedy and reforms to P-plate laws in NSW including automatic licence disqualification for speeding and passenger restrictions.

The ramifications of this latest incident will be just as widely felt.