Tributes flow for Taj Patten-Mclaren, 15, and Zane Oldis, 18, killed in crash at Orbost
Two teenagers, a 15-year-old and 18-year-old, have been remembered as “best mates” who would be “loved forever” after they were killed in a horror car crash in East Gippsland.
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Two teenagers, including a 15-year-old boy, killed in a horror East Gippsland crash have been remembered as “the best mates”, as a third teenager recovers in hospital.
Taj Patten-Mclaren, 15, and Zane Oldis, 18, died when the car Mr Oldis was driving hit a tree near Murphys Lane and Bonang-Orbost Rd in Orbost just after midnight on Tuesday.
Taj and Zane both died at the scene while their friend, a 16-year-old boy, was hospitalised with minor injuries.
Devastated loved ones of the teens have remembered them as close friends who would be “forever 18” and “forever 15”.
“We miss you Zane, I hope your (sic) at peace now with your buddy Taj,” one friend said on TikTok.
“Best mates gone, f****** come back boys,” a friend wrote on Facebook.
“Rest easy boys,” another friend said.
“Fly high boys, loved forever and always,” a friend said on Instagram.
Tearful friends of the boys gathered at the crash site to lay flowers and leave mementos in their memory.
Several friends described Taj as a “funny” boy who “always made you laugh”.
Road Policing Senior Sergeant Luke Banwell told media on Tuesday that the boys died “instantly”.
Acting Inspector Rachel Chapman said the boys’ death sparked a devastating “ripple effect” throughout the Orbost community.
“Everyone in the community will be impacted by this,” she said.
Crash investigators will investigate whether speed was a factor in the fatal smash.
Originally published as Tributes flow for Taj Patten-Mclaren, 15, and Zane Oldis, 18, killed in crash at Orbost
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