Five victims of horror crash at Buxton identified

The five teenagers killed in an unthinkable tragedy southwest of Sydney have been identified. The driver and sole survivor is “distraught”.

Pictured is Tyrell Edwards, confirmed driver of a vehicle where five teenagers died in a car accident in Buxton. Picture: Facebook

The five teenagers tragically killed in a horror crash southwest of Sydney have been named.

All five are aged between 14 and 16. Their names can not legally be published.

They died when a Nissan Navara ute driven by Tyrell Edwards, 18, left the road in Buxton just after 8pm on Tuesday and collided with a tree.

The driver was the sole survivor of the crash that has devastated the local community.

Mr Edwards, who is a former student at Picton High School where the other five passengers attended, was taken to Liverpool Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He was breath-tested and returned a negative result and later subjected to mandatory blood and alcohol testing.

Officers arrested him and took him to Narellan Police Station, where he is assisting with inquiries. He has been charged over the crash.

Tyrell Edwards was driving at the time of the crash that killed five teens. Picture: Facebook

A relative of Mr Edwards told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph that the teen and his family were “distraught” and “everyone is grieving”.

Acting Inspector Jason Hogan told the media on Wednesday that officers had spoken to the families of the victims, who are obviously very distressed at this time.

“We’ll be offering them some support and we’ve reached out to the road victims support group to provide ongoing welfare and counselling,” he said.

Deputy Secretary for the NSW Department of Education, Murat Dizdar, described the situation as “extremely distressing and disturbing”, revealing the victims of the crash had been at Picton High School since Year 7.

“As the community in New South Wales would appreciate, it’s a deeply distressing phone call to get from NSW Police, where we find out over night that we’ve lost five young learners,” he said.

Friends of the five teens who were tragically killed in a horrific accident last night pay their respects and lay flowers at the crash site in Buxton. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

“What I do know is that the public education family galvanise and get behind each school community that confronts tragedy and that’s what’s taking place at Picton High School this morning.

Mr Dizdar said there are two separate counselling teams onsite at the school this morning.

“One of those teams is a dedicated expert unit to support staff that are impacted and feeling the stress of this news,” he said.

“We’ve got to recognise that these are teacher professionals who have been educating these young people, as I understand it, at Picton High School since Year 7.”

Acting Inspector Hogan said preliminary investigations indicate speed as a “possible factor” in the horrific crash.

“The scene was extremely traumatic and the circumstances surrounding the damage will be investigated by our vehicle examiners,” he said.

“The scene will be interpreted by crash investigation unit and our forensic team to reconstruct what we can of the crash.”

— More to come