Samantha Smith and two children killed in Central Mangrove crash

Police say a mother-of-eight who died in a horror car accident on the Central Coast alongside two of her children had them as part of a school holiday access visit.

Two children who died with their mother in a horror crash on the Central Coast had been staying with her on an access visit for the school holidays from their dad in northern NSW.

Samantha Smith, 32, son Bradley, 10, and daughter Emanuella, six, were killed when their Toyota Prado veered off Wisemans Ferry Rd at Central Mangrove just before 10pm on Tuesday, rolled down an embankment and slammed into a tree.

Another three of her children, including her youngest who she called her “lil dude”, survived after being freed from the wreckage in scenes police said were “devastating”.

The mother-of-eight, who had five of her children in the car, had spoken on her Facebook page about how proud she was turning her life around and how her “lil dude”, now aged 16 months, had given her new strength.

Samantha Smith with five of her children. Picture: Facebook

In a tragic twist, police believe a passing motorist accidentally struck one of the children who had been thrown out of the car and onto the road in the crash, before getting out of his car and calling triple-0.

Close friend Adele Pate said Bradley and Emanuella had only arrived in the Hunter from Manilla, near Tamworth, to visit their mother a few days earlier.

“They were on a holiday-access visit, they normally live in (Manilla) with their father,” Ms Pate said. “She was a wonderful mum, she would do anything for her children.

“If you were ever in any trouble she’d be the first person you would go to.

“But her kids were her main priority, it was always just her kids. She was just a fantastic mum. I’m going to be so lost without her.”

The children who survived the crash were rushed to John Hunter Hospital for treatment for serious injuries.

A badly damaged 4WD is towed away from the scene. Picture: TNV

They were met there by Ms Smith’s partner Dean Holmes who had been at home in Laguna, outside Cessnock, looking after her three other children.

“Dean’s pretty much just lost his whole world,” Ms Pate said. “He’s been trying to find out what happened, we don’t know if it was her heart condition – which she was waiting for a transplant for – or what. It’s all very unclear.”

The 37-year-old driver of the first car on the scene was helping police. He was taken to hospital for mandatory testing but investigators believe he was simply passing by at the wrong time.

“This driver has come into contact with one of the children and that impact will be part of our investigation,” Superintendent Darryl Jobson said.

“Anyone who was in that man’s situation, coming across the scene, doing the right thing by contacting triple-0, it would be an absolute harrowing and devastating experience for any person.”

Their car veered off the road and crashed into an embankment. Picture: TNV

Police are investigating why Ms Smith and her children were 45km from home when they crashed.

“We are in the very early stages of our investigation and we will be doing our best to investigate all the circumstances to prepare our findings for the coroner, and also to provide some closure for the family involved,” Supt Jobson said.

“I’d like to put out a message to any members of the community who may have been in the area, who may have seen something of interest to us involving this vehicle, please come forward.”

Supt Jobson said the crash scene had devastated even the most seasoned of police.

“There is no doubt they are shaken and unsettled by this,” he said. “Those on scene, in what is a challenging and confronting situation, have gone beyond the call of duty.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the work our first responders have done.”

A GoFundMe has also been started to help the family, which can be found here.

Investigations are ongoing and a report will be prepared for the coroner.