A teenager charged with dangerous driving over a crash near Sydney that claimed five lives had his licence suspended twice for speeding, a court has heard.
Tyrell Edwards was last night charged by police over the crash at Buxton, involving a Nissan Navara ute which collided with a tree.
Three girls and two boys, aged between 14 and 16, died, and Mr Edwards suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Two of the victims were Picton High School students Lily Van de Putte and Antonio Desisto.
The ABC has received permission from their parents to identify them but the other victims cannot be named for legal reasons.
Mr Edwards, 18, has been charged with five counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and was today refused bail.
Picton Local Court heard Mr Edwards has only had a provisional licence since 2021, and in that time he was suspended for two separate three-month periods over incidents of speeding.
The prosecutor told the court the Crown's case is strong and footage exists which supports "elements" leading up to the alleged offences.
Court documents outlining the alleged police facts reveal Mr Edwards's mobile phone was seized and allegedly contained a video created 67 minutes prior to the collision.
"The footage shows the accused holding his mobile phone in his left hand while purposely and aggressive(ly) turning the steering wheel from left to right with his right hand," the documents said.
"Loud music is heard playing within the vehicle and all males are heard laughing as the vehicle swerves violently on the roadway."
According to the alleged police facts, the vehicle was travelling at 90kph, while two of the victims yelled "f***" and "we're going to spin out, cuz".
The court documents also allege that at the scene, witnesses overheard Mr Edwards say: "I f***ed up, I'm going to jail".
During a police interview, he allegedly told police he experienced a "steering fault" within the vehicle, which he described as "shaking, going left to right".
According to the court documents, Mr Edwards claimed to have attempted to brake but said the vehicle did not slow significantly.
"The roadway evidence documented at the collision scene is not consistent with the accused's version," the documents state.
The footage depicts "a high level of moral culpability", the court heard.
The court was also told the prosecution has concerns Mr Edwards, who comes from the small community of Bargo, is likely to come into contact with parties that have involvement in the proceedings and there is a risk he could interfere with witnesses.
His lawyer proposed conditions including that he live with his parents, report to police daily and abide by a curfew.
But Magistrate Mark Douglass said Mr Edwards's driving suspensions stood out.
"As a direct result of his driving inexperience, he was subjected to two demerit point suspensions," he said.
His licence was renewed in July this year and the magistrate said the driving history was "problematic" for the bail application.
He took into account that Mr Edwards has previously experienced anxiety and requires psychological treatment following the crash.
"However, given the egregious breach of trust, given the blatant breach of road rules that police allege occurred, this court has no confidence that this particular person would comply, given the history I've explained, with any bail conditions the court set at this particular point in time," he said.
"He was suspended for two three-month periods in perhaps less than 18 months.
"That was not enough, according to police, to stop what is a very serious course of dangerous driving, if proven."
Mr Edwards, who the court heard has no criminal history, appeared via audio-visual link wearing a dark hoodie and held his hands clasped together on a table in front of him.
The father of Antonio Desisto, Exaven Desisto said while he knows Mr Edwards, he "needs to be held accountable".
"I know the family he's got a good family and Tyrell does have a good heart," Mr Desisto said.
"People need to be held accountable for their actions. It's not going to bring back the lives of the kids ... Just think when you hop in the car how precious life is.
"I have to go see my son in the f***ing morgue."
A large group of supporters attended court, including Mr Edwards's parents.
The case will return to court in November.
