Buxton crash: Five dead after car smashes into trees southwest of Sydney
Distressed family and friends of five teenagers killed in a car accident in Sydney’s southwest overnight have arrived at the crash scene to pay their respects.
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Five young people are dead and another has been taken to hospital after a horror single-vehicle car crash southwest of Sydney, in an incident described by police as one of the worst they’ve seen in decades.
The Nissan Navara ploughed into a tree on East Pde at Buxton – a small town near Picton – just after 8pm on Tuesday.
Five teenagers – three girls, two aged 14 and one aged 15, and two boys, aged 15 and 16 – died in the incident.
All victims attended Picton High School, police said on Wednesday.
An 18-year-old man, who was behind the wheel of the Nissan at the time, survived and suffered non life-threatening injuries.
He was arrested and taken to Liverpool Hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.
Video footage showed paramedics wheeling him into the hospital on a stretcher. He had his eyes open and was staring into the space above him.
Camden police Superintendent Paul Fuller said the crash was one of the worst he’d seen in his 38 years of policing.
“We’ve located three teenage girls and two teenage boys [deceased in the vehicle], they’re all local kids, they all go to the local high school,” he said.
“So it’s a horrific accident scene and a tragedy of this magnitude is going to have ripple effects … for their families, friends and through the local community.
“I’ve been in the police for 38 years and it’s one of the worst accident scenes I’ve ever come across.”
Supt Fuller said he had spoken to the principal of Picton High and counselling would be provided for students.
Emergency service crews will also be provided with counselling, he said, adding that some of those who were first on the scene would likely know the victims.
“It’s a horrific scene and unfortunately some of the first responders would know these kids, from our rural fire service, our ambulance and our police,” he said.
Supt Fuller said he was unable to comment on whether police believed speed was a factor in the crash, however on Wednesday morning he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham that alcohol was not believed to be a factor.
“Honestly an incident of this magnitude will have far reaching effects on the community,” he said.
“We had families turning up to the scene last night that found out through social media that their kids may have been involved in this crash.”
Dramatic video footage taken at the scene showed the Nissan torn to pieces amid multiple trees and close to the front fences of nearby homes.
In emotional scenes, two men were seen comforting each other next to police tape. One firefighter described the scene as “absolute chaos”.
East Pde resident Justin Davis told The Daily Telegraph he heard sirens shortly after the crash.
“We heard the emergency services vehicles responding really quickly and saw the lights flashing, it lit up the whole street,” he said.
“Then a helicopter landed in a nearby paddock.”
Mr Davis said the area was normally very quiet.
“Even when kids ride their motorbikes along the streets they do it quietly,” he said.
Shocked residents dressed in pyjamas were seen being interviewed by police at the front of their blocks.
Mayor of Wollondilly Shire, Matt Gould, said he was struggling to find the words to describe the “overwhelming loss”.
“Our entire shire has woken up in shock and mourning following the absolutely horrific accident at Buxton overnight,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
“The loss of so many young lives is just devastating and you can’t put into words the overwhelming loss many our community are feeling.”
Authorities said no other vehicles were involved in the crash.
Buxton, which is about 100km southwest of Sydney, is a town of about 1000 residents.
The car crashed next to the town’s main drag and near its centre.
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