The grief-stricken mother of a teenager who was one of four people killed in a horror weekend car crash in western Victoria has issued a heart-breaking plea.
“I am just a parent who needs to help in some way in memory of my son,” Lee Elmes, the mother of year 10 student Joshua Elmes, wrote on social media.
“I would love to help the other grieving parents who have lost angels, or have one badly hurt.”
Ms Elmes said she had started a fundraiser to help with “funeral costs” for “the grieving families” and “any other expenses in the next coming weeks and months”.
“I just want to say that our angels are in heaven and no longer in pain, and we will one day see them all again,’ she said.
Police are yet to formally confirm the names of the two teenage boys, two teenage girls and a woman in her 30s who died when the Toyota Corolla they were travelling in left Wannon-Nigretta Falls Road, near the small community of Bochara, before hitting a tree early on Saturday.
A 17-year-old girl was the sole survivor of the crash. She is fighting for her life in The Alfred hospital in Melbourne.
On Monday, Monivae College in Hamilton confirmed in a statement that Joshua Elmes was among those killed.
“The Monivae College community is devastated by the loss of year 10 student Joshua Elmes because of a horrific accident that occurred in Bochara over the weekend,” principal Jonathan Rowe wrote on Monday.
“We express our deepest sympathy’s to Josh’s family and to all those who loved him, including his brother, year 7 student Aaron.
“We further extend condolences to all the friends and families of the other members of the Hamilton community who also lost their lives or were badly injured in the incident. Our colleagues at Baimbridge College are in our thoughts.”
Tributes have been left outside Monivae College for the teenager.
“Rest easy Josh, you will never be forgotten,” one note read.
“Never thought it would end this way. You will be missed,” a group of friends wrote another.
Mr Rowe said students and staff were being offered support to cope with the news.
Four of the crash victims attended secondary schools in Hamilton, including Baimbridge and Monivae colleges. Hamilton is about 300 kilometres west of Melbourne and has just over 10,000 residents.
The other victim is believed to be Alicia Montebello, who was in her 30s.
Her brother Jaryd posted a message on Facebook, saying she would be “forever in our hearts”.
“Rest in peace my beautiful sister, taken way to soon, you were loved very much,” Mr Montebello said.
Two of the victims are believed to be sisters. At least two also worked at the local Coles.
“Our thoughts are with our team members at Coles Hamilton who have been offered counselling at this tragic time,” the supermarket said in a statement.
Also on Monday, police said they believed the driver of the Corolla was travelling well above the 100km/h speed limit when the crash happened.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said an examination of the crash reconstruction on Wannon-Nigretta Falls Road revealed the car was travelling “well in excess of 100km/h”.
“To do that speed on that road at that time of day, any time really, is just incomprehensible to me,” Mr Weir told the ABC.
“This is something we’re seeing play out in a number of the serious injury collisions and fatalities that we’ve seen recently – people not driving to the conditions.”
Mr Weir said it also appeared that some of those in the car weren’t wearing seatbelts.
“Of course, in such a high speed and powerful collision, it’s like a pinball machine when you’re not wearing a seatbelt,” he said.
Detectives from the major collision unit created a full forensic crash reconstruction on Sunday as the crumbled wreck of the Corolla was towed away.
Photographs of the red Toyota showed graffiti on the seats with the words “drive safe” and “love people help people”.
In a statement, Southern Grampians Shire Council offered its condolences to the victims’ families and friends.
“Trust that the people of Hamilton share in your immense sadness and grief and we will rally around to support you,” the council said.
There have been 131 deaths on Victoria’s roads so far this year, 33 more than at the same time in 2022.
Four farm workers were among five people killed in April at Strathmerton in what was the state’s most deadly single crash since 2012.
A man and woman, both 42, also died after a car crashed into a power pole at Thomastown in Melbourne’s outer north on Sunday morning.
And a woman, 53, died in hospital on Sunday after a hit-and-run collision at Point Cook in Melbourne’s south-west on Friday night. A man has been charged over the crash.
Since Friday, eight people have lost their lives on Victorian roads.
This weekend had been a catastrophe and police were frustrated with the behaviour of motorists, Mr Weir said.
“Families have been ripped apart, a community has been ripped apart. It cannot go on,” he said.
-with AAP
