Heartbreaking text Toowoomba teen Heidi Riding sent moments before horror crash

A year on from the horrific death of a Toowoomba teenager killed in a fiery crash, the girl’s parents say they’re struggling to grapple with how a ‘flawed’ justice system led to their insurmountable loss.

Toowoomba teen Heidi Riding, 18, died.

“I’m sorry mum.”

These were the final words of 18-year-old Heidi Riding, sent just moments before she was killed in a horrific crash on a suburban Toowoomba street.

It’s a text message that will haunt her parents Rayleen and Shane for the rest of their lives.

A year on from that shocking incident, the Riding family has opened up about the heavy toll the loss has had on their lives, and why they believe a “flawed” justice system contributed to Heidi’s death.

Heidi Riding had a heart of gold and would give the shirt off her own back if someone needed it, her father said following her death in 2023.

Just after midnight at a Newtown intersection on July 14, the 18-year-old was in the passenger seat of an alleged stolen car when the driver lost control and crashed into a tree at an estimated speed of more than 150km/hr.

Heidi was thrown from the car and died at the scene.

Her death is now subject to a Queensland coroner’s court inquest, and the driver remains in custody charged with manslaughter.

Mr and Mrs Riding said they were told the coroner’s findings about the night their daughter died might take up to three years to conclude.

About 10 hours after the fatal crash, Acting Detective Inspector Damien Smith said officers were not actively pursuing the stolen car, however the Queensland Police Service Ethical Standards Command was investigating.

They said those findings and subsequent criminal proceedings might provide them with some closure, but one year on they had struggled every day with their grief and “what ifs”.

“I don’t think it will ever feel resolved, we might get some closure with the findings but nothing will bring her back,” Mr Riding said.

Mr Riding said there wasn’t a day that had gone by since her death that he hadn’t cried.

“We never viewed the body, we weren’t allowed to, and it really feels like we buried an empty coffin,” he said.

“We’re just waiting for her to ring up for an Uber, but it hasn’t happened.”

Calls for change

In the days and weeks leading up to the crash, Heidi’s parents were fighting with Queensland’s legal system to allow her across state lines, away from bad influences, so she could live with them in Tasmania and start her painter’s apprenticeship.

“She was a very special person to us, maybe not to anyone else, but the system has taken a very good kid off us which is the saddest thing,” Mr Riding said. “The hardest thing is that the system let us down in so many different ways.

“They killed our family the day Heidi died.”

Heidi was a talented footy player who scored 100s of tries at the Goondiwindi fields, her dad said. A year on her parents avoid the border town because it’s too painful to drive through.

Mrs Riding said Youth Justice needed to give parents more power to help rehabilitate their children when they were going through the justice system.

“Everyone says, ‘parents should be held accountable’ when kids get in trouble – well maybe we should but give us the chance first,” she said.

“I get that from the community and fully understand where they’re coming from, but we tried.

“They took our rights and responsibilities away.

“I understand some parents can’t or don’t want to, but if the system gave us back our responsibility then maybe we could have changed it,” she said.

Community vitriol

The person whose car was involved in the horrific crash, told News Corp Australia she allegedly left the car on the roadside after running out of fuel.Because the car involved in the crash was allegedly stolen, Heidi’s family was subject to abuse and harassment just hours after her death, and although it subsided, they said it was still continuing a year on.

Heidi was buried in secret after trolls threatened to crash the funeral and drive a car through her fresh gravesite, and her sister received more than 100 abusive emails in the span of 30 minutes.

A handful of months ago, the Riding family said Heidi’s roadside memorial was torn down by an angry resident who said they were sick of seeing it when they drove past every day, and the family has had issues with others trashing the cemetery.

The trolls even went to one of Heidi's sister's workplace's social media page to sling hatred.

Mr Riding said Heidi was not a hardened criminal or a violent person, and she should not be reduced to or defined by her property offences.

“Just because of her history doesn’t mean she wasn’t a very special person,” he said.

“She was so fun loving and such a hyperactive kid,” he said.

“She was the most loyal friend you would ever meet, if she had your back you didn’t need anyone else,” her mother said.

Mr Riding said he understood for some young offenders, the only family they had were their friends, but urged them to think twice before getting involved with property offences.

“I’d love to say to these kids, ‘get out of the cars before they have to bury another friend’,” he urged.