By Riley Walter and Josefine Ganko
A teenage boy has been killed when the car his older sister was driving collided with a truck in one of three fatal incidents on NSW roads overnight, with the tragedy sparking warnings for parents to remind their children of risks on the roads.
A 20-year-old man and a woman in her 40s were also killed in separate incidents in Sydney on Thursday night, hours before police launched a statewide traffic operation for the King’s Birthday long weekend.
The hatchback the 16-year-old was travelling in with his 20-year-old sister and two other relatives collided with a truck at the intersection of the Hume Highway and Worth Street at Greenacre just after 8pm, police said.
One of the rear passengers was flung from the car, with police investigating whether the occupants, who are all related, were wearing seatbelts and if speed was a factor in the collision.
“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare that one of your children, let alone two of them, are involved in a collision that takes a life,” Superintendent Anthony Boyd said.
“We need to encourage parents to have that conversation that these things are real.
“Young people are at risk on our roads, and they, unfortunately, are over-represented in collisions for that age group, and we need to make sure that they are aware of the dangers.”
A second boy in the hatchback was rushed to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in a critical condition. The boy’s sister was taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition, while a man in the car was taken to the same hospital in a stable condition.
The truck remained at the scene on Friday morning as crash investigators gathered evidence, Nine reported. The Hume Highway was closed eastbound overnight, reopening just before 8am on Friday morning.
In a separate incident on Thursday evening, a pedestrian was killed on Macquarie Avenue in Penrith in an alleged hit-and-run.
The woman, a foreign national whom police are appealing for help to identify, was struck by a ute about 5.30pm, before the driver of the orange dual-cab Ford Ranger allegedly fled the scene without stopping.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the woman, believed to be in her 40s, at the scene, but she couldn’t be saved.
A crime scene was established and will be forensically examined by officers from the Crash Investigation Unit.
“For somebody to strike a pedestrian, not stop and offer assistance, is … abhorrent behaviour from a driver of a vehicle,” Boyd said.
Boyd said the woman was believed to have been in Australia for around six months, but police had not been able to locate her family.
“If she’s a work colleague, a friend, that hasn’t arrived at work today or you can’t contact, you may be able to assist us if you get in touch,” he said.
Boyd urged the driver to contact police, adding that investigators had spoken to several witnesses and gathered CCTV from several locations.
“We have very strong leads,” he said.
In a third incident overnight, a 20-year-old man was killed when his ute hit a tree on Back Henty Road at Henty, in the state’s south.
A crime scene was established, and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
The three deaths came hours before NSW Police launched its statewide road operation, which aims to prevent road trauma during the King’s Birthday long weekend.
The operation began at midnight overnight, and will conclude at 11.59pm on Monday, June 9. Double demerit points will apply for the duration of the operation.
“We are pleading with motorists to take care on the roads, take responsibility for your actions, and most importantly, take the responsibility for the safety of everyone on the road, not just yourself,” Boyd said.
“Your actions can severely impact others on the road.”
In an appeal earlier on Thursday, police said 2025 had already been a tragic year on NSW roads, with the state already recording 157 deaths, 14 more fatalities than at the same time last year.
“Long weekends are meant for rest and time with our loved ones – not tragedy. But every year, we see lives lost in crashes that could have been avoided. Behind each of those deaths is a shattered family, a devastated community and emergency workers facing trauma no one should have to witness,” Police Minister Yasmin Catley said.
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