Three friends killed in a crash east of Perth on Sunday have been remembered as “sweet souls” whose deaths are “heart shattering”.
Kyle Retallack, 27, Joshua Cox, 26, and Chloe Websdale, 23, were in a white Nissan Patrol when it veered off the road and crashed into a tree just after 3pm on Sunday as it was driving westbound on Brookton Highway in Lesley, east of Armadale.
The trio, who had been on their way home from a camping trip, died at the scene.
On Monday, Retallack was described as “a lovely person” by mourners who paid tribute on social media.
“To wake up and find out you have passed away brother is absolutely heart shattering,” one wrote.
“I’m gonna miss your contagious smile and your daily Snapchat rants” another wrote, while others described how much he would always make people smile.
Kyle Retallack died on Sunday along with two other people in a car accident just after 3pm.Credit: Facebook
A GoFundMe page was set up in a bid to raise $12,000 “to try help his beautiful family with financial burden as they are already lost and struggling emotionally with the loss of their beloved son and brother, nephew, grandson”.
Cox was described by a family member as “forever 26” as they said they were “so grateful for the time we had together in this lifetime I will forever cherish every moment”.
Acting Road Police Commander Mike Peters said seven people died in four crashes over the weekend on WA roads, including two boys aged 16 and 17, who were killed after the motorcycle they were riding and a ute collided on North West Coastal Highway in Roebourne.
“We’ve had four fatal crashes in the last three days, since Friday afternoon that resulted in seven West Australians losing their lives,” Peters said.
Josh Cox, 26, died in a triple road fatality on the weekend.Credit: Facebook
“I don’t know how to explain the sadness and devastation that the families of those loved ones must be feeling right now, and I can’t put myself in their shoes, but I can say our officers have had to deliver news to families and loved ones in regards to those fatal crashes and those people that have lost their lives, and that’s nothing a police officer wants to ever have to do.”
Peters said the “ripple effect” of road fatalities reaches not just loved ones, but a wider community and reiterated the “fatal five”: seatbelts, distraction through phone, impairment through drugs or alcohol and fatigue.
“I’m at my wits’ end,” he said.
“And I know my officers are at their wits’ end.
“We are doing everything in the enforcement space we can across both the metropolitan area and Western Australia.
“I can’t sit alongside you in your vehicle and make choices for you. That’s up to you.
“But what I ask is that you take and understand the responsibility of driving a motor vehicle, riding an E-scooter, riding a motorcycle, you take it seriously that when you get behind the wheel of one of those vehicles, make sure you understand what you’re taking responsibility for.
“You’re taking the responsibility for your life, but you’re also taking responsibility for other people’s lives that are using the road network.”
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