Monterey crash victims: heartbreak as family farewell ‘cheeky monkey’ siblings

The grieving family of two young brothers killed in an horrific car crash in Sydney’s south have gathered to farewell their “cheeky monkeys” in a heart-wrenching funeral.

The grieving family of two young boys killed in a Monterey car crash has gathered to farewell their “cheeky monkeys” in a heart-wrenching funeral.

Under a near-constant cover of rain, family and friends filled an Enfield church to mourn Peter Abreu, 9, and Xavier Abreu, 10, who died instantly on August 25 after the car they were in — driven by their maternal cousin Jimmy Britto — allegedly cut across the road, flipping and smashing into a tree.

Another passenger, a nine-year-old girl, survived the crash and was taken to Sydney Children’s Hospital with minor injuries.

Mr Britto was later charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and one count of causing bodily harm by misconduct.

Police alleged in court that driver was travelling at a minimum of 136km/h in a 60km/h zone before he crashed into a tree.

Xavier, 10, and Peter, 9, were killed in a horrific high-speed car crash.

The funeral came a day after Britto was refused bail in Sutherland Local Court on Thursday afternoon, with magistrate Philip Stewart saying a jail sentence would be “inevitable” if the 33-year-old is convicted.

In an exclusive interview with The Saturday Telegraph, the boys’ father, Sam Abreu spoke of the pain of losing his two sons, who were killed just metres from his home.

“He drove past our house. I have to live with that. I’ve got to drive past that site and have the memory of my kids being killed there,” Mr Abreu said.

Mourners carry the boys’ coffins into St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Enfield.

The boys were remembered as ‘cheeky monkeys’ by friends and family.

Family and mourners at St Joseph’s Catholic Church on Friday.

On the night of the crash, Mr Abreu and his partner Jivonne, the boys’ stepmother, heard the sirens. They saw the flashing lights, fracturing the dark peace of their loungeroom.

“I was actually making coffee and I saw three cop cars go past blaring and flying. I thought ‘Oh, there must be something going on’,” Ms Garrido said.

They never imagined that inside those ambulances were the two boys, or that a few hours later, they would be identifying them in a hospital morgue.

Their pain is palpable.

“I was in the process of setting up a spare room here and putting beds there to start having the kids coming over to stay on the weekend,” said Mr Abreu, his voice hollow.

He planned to fill it with all the boys’ favourite toys, and looked forward to days spent lazing on the beach and riding bikes.

Instead, he planned their funeral.

Floral tributes left at crash site on the Grand Pde at Monterey. Picture: Damian Shaw

Wreckage of the car on The Grand Pde, Monterey.

Neither know exactly why the boys were in the car that night, but know both children loved going on drives with their older cousin.

“They loved cars,” said Mr Abreu, his words those of a broken man, forced to learn to refer to his children in the past tense.

“Who’d ever think I would have to bury my own kids?”

The scene that confronted officers at the crash site.

Brothers Xavier and Peter were killed near their Monterey home.

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