The parents of an 18-year-old who died when a car driven by his friend crashed in North Lake last weekend have urged people to “call out” young drivers for reckless behaviour.
Daniel and Bianca Campo said they were living “the worst nightmare that you could imagine” after their son Nick, a promising South Fremantle Football Club player, died on Sunday after the ute he was a passenger in crashed, rolled and collided with an SUV on Farrington Road.
Daniel and Bianca Campo, parents of Nick Campo.
Campo died at the scene, while the 17-year-old male driver and three other male passengers of the ute (17, 18, 18) were rushed to hospital with various injuries.
The male driver (26) and female passenger (27) of the SUV were also taken to hospital, with minor injuries.
The young driver of the ute Campo was in was later charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and two counts of dangerous driving occasioning bodily harm and is currently out on bail.
Daniel Campo said his son’s death had compelled him to appeal to young drivers publicly.
“Young kids think they’re bulletproof; they’re not,” he said.
“They’re not experienced enough to drive cars with others in the back, talking on their phones, distracted. It’s my job now to try to make a difference, and I – please – implore everyone; it’s got to stop.”
Campo said he and his wife were launching a campaign called “Call out for Nick” and hoped for public speaking opportunities, particularly with sporting clubs, to speak directly to young drivers about the impact of not driving safely.
“I don’t want others to go through what we’re going through, because it is the worst nightmare that you can imagine,” Bianca said.
“The pain is just unbearable. I just – I don’t want anybody else to have to go through this. If we can do something just to prevent that, then we will try.”
Nick Campo died in a car accident.
Campo’s death wasn’t the only road tragedy at the weekend.
On Saturday, a 73-year-old man died near Geraldton and a 39-year-old motorcyclist died on Brookton Highway. On Sunday morning, a 62-year-old man died in Jurien Bay.
Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner told Gary Adshead on Radio 6PR there needed to be a “cultural shift” after figures showed an increase in road deaths.
“We really have to have a hard look as a community and think: what are we prepared to do differently?” he said.
“We’ve got to keep working, we’ve got to keep doing things, we’ve got to keep challenging: ‘is it working?’”
South Fremantle Football Club issued a statement saying they were in “deep shock” over Campo’s death.
“Nick was a bright young man with true talent and a love for football,” they said.
“He came through our talent pathway and played Colts at South Fremantle for the past two years.
“His loss has been felt heavily across the football, cricket, and wider WA communities.”
Read more