Jacob Donn: Wellington crash accused refused bail

Relatives of the man who allegedly hit and killed two young boys while doing burnouts in Wellington say he wishes he had died instead of them.

Police accuse Jacob Steven Donn of driving into a group of children, killing Shane and Sheldon Storey, in Wellington. Picture: Facebook

Relatives of the man who allegedly hit and killed two young boys while doing burnouts in Wellington say he wishes he had died in the carnage rather than the youngsters.

Jacob Steven Donn’s relatives are struggling to come to grips with police allegations that the 25-year-old crashed into a group of people with fatal consequences while driving without a licence.

Joseph Shorey with sons Sheldon, 6, and (front) Shane Shorey, 7.

The boys were walking back from a day of swimming when they were hit. Pictures: Facebook

Donn did not apply for bail and it was formally refused when he appeared before a registrar on Thursday.

Police allege he lost control of his red Holden Commodore while doing burnouts around the streets of his country town on Tuesday.

Heartbroken father Joseph Shorey reads messages from the community. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Donn’s car allegedly ploughed into Shayleen Frail, her two sons and two other boys aged nine and 10 as the group walked along the path near the town’s pool.

Ms Frail’s sons, Sheldon, 6, and Shane Shorey, 7, were pinned under the vehicle and killed.

Ms Frail was badly injured as was another boy, aged 10. The fourth boy, aged nine, was left with just minor injuries.

Police allege Donn fled the scene and was arrested some four hours later after being chased down on foot.

People close to Donn say they too are heartbroken by the deaths and insist he tried to help.

“I’m devastated, I’m so sorry for the loss of those little boys on top of the loss of my great-grandson,” Donn’s 91-year-old great-grandmother Dawn said.

“I love him so much.”

Donn has called his great-grandmother from prison sobbing, she says. He is being held in Wellington prison on remand.

“He was devastated, he said he wished he could have died instead of them,” Mrs Donn said.

Tremaine Francis Sr, the older brother of Sheldon and Shane Shorey, with his son Tremaine Francis Jr and partner Kiarna Peachey visited the scene on Warne St. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The well-respected Wellington woman said her great-grandson was on the dole, unable to work.

She claimed Donn had tried to free the children trapped under the car.

That differs from the NSW Police allegations that Donn fled the scene on foot and was arrested in a laneway four hours later with prescription drugs on him.

“They’re making out he got out and run away, he loved children,” she said.

Donn’s partner, Glenys Honeysett, said he had only left the scene to reach his family.

“He didn’t run from (the) accident, he stayed and helped,” she said.

“He was then going to say goodbye to his grandma, the one who reared him, and then he was going straight to hand himself over to the police.”

People in Wellington say there is a black cloud settling over the town which has been beset by multiple tragedies this week after an unrelated stabbing.

The hashtag #PrayforWello was trending on social media on Thursday.

Shayleen Frail, the mother of Shane and Sheldon Storey, is still in Westmead Hospital. Picture: Facebook

Shane and Sheldon’s dad, Joseph Shorey, had vowed to face Donn in court.

But holiday arrangements in the courts meant Donn sat in the cells at Dubbo courthouse as his case was dealt with by a registrar in Broken Hill.

When Donn didn’t apply for bail he was taken to Wellington prison to be held on remand until his next appearance on Tuesday.

Mr Shorey spent the day with family and friends in Dubbo preparing to arrange funerals for his young boys.

He earlier said his heart had been “ripped out” by their deaths.

He shared a photo of his two boys smiling cheekily, each holding up a sports trophy just after midnight on Thursday.

Mr Shorey has been inundated with messages of support, most simply blue and white hearts — the colours of the boys’ beloved Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

A GoFundMe campaign was launched this week to help Mr Shorey pay for the funerals, another was launched for the injured Ms Frail and a third for the 10-year-old whose leg was badly broken in the crash.

The car Jacob Donn was allegedly driving on January 5. Picture: Ryan Young

The Daily Telegraph understands that the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, underwent further surgery on Thursday as doctors work desperately to save his leg.

“(He) has a huge recovery ahead of him and it’s going to be a lot of change for him to adapt to — as strong and tough this little guy is,” a family friend wrote in an online fundraiser.

Ms Frail spent Thursday in Westmead Hospital in a stable condition. It is unclear if she is conscious or has been told her boys are not coming home.

Witnesses from the scene of Tuesday’s crash claim they and the group struck by the car — including Ms Frail — had witnessed Donn driving past before the fatal crash.

“The woman who was actually hit was very upset with the car as it went by on the way down the road,” John Pilling said. “And the next thing they were hit by the car.”

Donn is expected to front Dubbo Local Court on Tuesday charged with 14 offences which include dangerous driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, never licensed driver on the road, fail to stop after causing injury, fail to assist after causing death in a vehicle and drug possession.