Man charged after fatal crash claims four lives, leaving family of five orphaned

Five siblings – aged between 26 and 16 – received the devastating news that their parents were just an hour away from their home when killed in a horror crash. It comes as a man has now been charged over the crash.

• 5@5 BULLETIN: Orphaned in the blink of an eye

A man has been charged after a horrific two-vehicle crash claimed four lives on a notorious stretch of the Newell Highway near Dubbo last week.

Emergency services were called to the scene in Tomingley shortly before 9.20pm on Friday following reports of a multi-vehicle crash.

The crash involved a Toyota HiLux and a Toyota Hiace van, resulting in the deaths of two men aged 19 and 18, and a man and a woman, both aged 57.

The 23-year-old driver of the ute has been charged with four counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and other driving offences.

He was given conditional bail to appear before Dubbo Local Court on October 21.

The driver of the HiLux has been charged over the crash. Picture: TNV

The sole son of the couple killed in the crash, Alec Tait, 21, is now stoically carrying the burden of caring for his four orphaned sisters.

Alec Tait, 21, lost his parents Sue and Graham, both 57, when their van collided head on with a ute on the Newell Highway in Tomingley in Central West NSW.

The five siblings– aged between 26 and 16 – received the devastating news by police during the early hours of Friday, that their parents were just an hour away from their home in Parkes when their vehicle crashed head-on with the Toyota HiLux ute – killing them, and two teenage friends travelling in the oncoming vehicle.

Sue Tait and her husband Graham were tragically killed when their Hiace collided head on with this Hilux, right, on the Newell Highway near Dubbo. They are pictured with their five children, Katherine, 23, Bernadette, 26, Alex, 21 Felicity, 16, and Jessica, 24. Pictures: Supplied/TNV.

Former teacher and assistant director of Parkes Early Childhood Centre Sue, and her husband Graham, a coach driver, had left a will stating their two eldest girls Bernadette, 26, and Jessica, 24, should become legal guardians of their siblings in the event of their deaths.

“The two eldest girls live away from home but have come back to be with the family and Alec is trying to remain strong for his four sisters,” said Amii Marchant, director of the early childhood centre where Mrs Tait had worked for 17 years.

Alec, who works in computers and telecommunications, has been recalling “good memories” of his parents to try to elevate the spirits of his siblings, teachers Bernadette, 26, Jessica, 24, Katherine, 22, who is studying to be a teacher, and the youngest Felicity, 16, a student.

Former teacher Sue Tait and her husband Graham were killed in a head-on collision, on the Newell Highway. 35kms south of Dubbo. They leave behind five children.

“The weekend was really tough for them but today has been a bit nicer, the children have been sitting around talking of happier times with their parents, the good memories, of their quirks and funny thing that have happened over the years,” said Ms Marchant.

“They’re beautiful children, a loving family, they don’t have any grandparents of aunts or uncles, they’re a really close knit family and this has not doubt hit them hard.

“The saddest thing is that Sue and Graham were less than an hour away from getting home.

“Graham was a collector of books, of cars and gramophones and they were coming home after visiting Sydney and the Gold Coast on a week-long trip to collect car parts when the crash happened.

Parkes Early Childhood Centre broke the news to its community that Mrs Tait and her husband had died in a statement that read. “Over the weekend, our amazing assistant director Sue Tait and her husband Graham were tragically killed in a head on collision. They sadly leave behind five children who need our love at this time”

“The youngest child Felicity, who is quiet ordinarily, has been exceptionally quiet.

“The community is rallying around them but it’s a very sensitive time for the five children – they’ve lost both their parent overnight,” she said.

The couple died in their van in NSW’s central west around 9.20pm on Friday.

Best friends Lochie Jacobs, 18, and Joey Urban, 19, from Molong, who were passengers in the ute driven by a friend, died instantly.

The driver of the ute, a 23-year-old man, was rushed to hospital with leg injuries.

Lochie’s mother Sian, from Molong, is said to be “numb” from losing her son, an agricultural worker and rodeo bull rider, and is still recovering from the death of her husband two years ago.

Over the weekend, on the Newell Highway near Dubbo, Sue Tait and her husband Graham were tragically killed in a head on collision. They sadly leave behind 5 children.

Locals have been looking for Lochie’s kelpie which who was in the back of the UTE and has been missing since the crash.

“Lochie was an exceptional person, he was so kind to my son Waryk who has cerebral palsy and would help me carry his wheelchair and backpack when I’d drop him off at school, they were at St Stanislaus’ College in Bathurst. He saw him for the kid he is and not his disabilities,” said family friend Tanya Lee.

“He was getting his life back on track after losing his father and kept saying how much he missed his dad and wanted to hug him.

Lochie Jacobs (right) and Joey Urban (left) were also killed on the Newell Highway when their car collided with the van driven by the Taits. Picture: supplied

“His mother, she’ll be numb after losing her husband and son. Waryk spoke to Lochie the night before the crash and said he was happy, we’re a country community and his death has devastated a lot of us.”

Police investigators are looking into reports that one of the crash vehicles had swerved onto the wrong side of the Newell Highway, about 35km south of Dubbo. They have not ruled out speeding as an issue.

A NSW Centre for Road Safety review of the Newell Highway, - the longest highway in NSW, stretching over 1,000 kilometres from the Victorian border to the Queensland border, -found the largest proportion of fatal crashes were off-path or rollover crashes.

Four people died in a horrific two-vehicle crash on Newell Highway at Tomingley around 9.20pm on Friday. Officers attached to Orana Mid-Western Police District attended the scene and found a Toyota Hilux and a Toyota Hiace van had collided. CREDIT: TNV

Lochie Jacobs, 18, was one of four killed in a horrific crash on the Newell Highway. He was getting his life back on track after losing his father two years ago

Last June a 44-year-old man died in the state’s west on the Newell Highway near Tomingley, 31km south of Dubbo, when his Mazda 323 crashed with a truck.

Almost 30 per cent of crashes on the highway were head on crashes, with heavy vehicles involved in 92 per cent in them, according to the 2011 review.

Deputy Mayor of Parkes Shire Council Councillor Marg Applebee called for more provision for overtaking lanes on the highway to prevent accidents.

“More must be done to protect that dangerous stretch of road,” she said.

“We’ve lost a beloved teacher and her husband Graham and their five children no longer have parents.

“Our hearts are heavy with sadness for this whole tragedy and we are grateful to have been fortunate to have these fabulous people live among us.”

There are GoFundMe set up for Graham and Sue Tait, and Lochie Jacobs and Joey Urban