A BEGA High School student is among those badly injured in the horrific accident north of Eden on Sunday.
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Tegan Lloyd, 15, from Bemboka was a passenger in the car in which 17-year-old Kylie Poyner from Pambula was killed and 13-year-old Benn Halfpenny and 15-year-old Michael Clark, both of Merimbula, were injured.
Tegan lost both legs in the accident and is in a critical condition in the Canberra Base Hospital, while the two boys yesterday were in a serious but stable condition in the same hospital, with severe head, leg and pelvic injuries.
Kylie, a first-year P-plate driver prohibited from carrying more than one passenger under 21 years old between 11pm and 5am, was driving the Hyundai Excel south on the Princes Highway at Little Bellbird Hill when she lost control and slammed into a tree near the bottom of the hill.
The impact was so severe police could not initially establish who was driving the vehicle.
Nemec Zlatko, captain of the Eden Fire Brigade, described the scene of the crash as one of the worst he had seen in 26 years.
“What is hard about it for the emergency services is they are all very young kids between 13 and 18 years of age and probably shouldn’t have been on the road,” he said.
“Nobody needed to be cut from the vehicle but the three survivors all needed to be helped from the vehicle.
“The vehicle hit the tree extremely hard and you almost couldn’t tell the front of the vehicle from the back.”
Mr Zlatko said firefighters spent over two hours at the scene helping to deliver first aid.
Inspector Jason Edmunds from Bega Police, who attended the scene of the tragedy, said he was “once again reminded of the fragility of human life”.
“Times like this are a reminder to everyone about the ease with which accidents can happen and the horrendous consequences that can follow,” he said.
“Our hearts go out to all the families involved and once again I implore drivers of all ages to be careful on the roads especially during conditions that are not always perfect.”
Jenne Gardner, principal of Bega High School where Tegan is a Year 10 student, said the school community was shocked and distressed by news of the accident.
“We have called in local counsellors and other support staff to provide assistance for any student that might need it,” she said.
“Students have been invited to make use of the counsellors and we will give them all the help they need.”
Ms Gardner said a whole school assembly was held yesterday morning to talk to students about the accident.
“We have told them that any further news received by the school from the authorities will be relayed to them,” she said.
Ms Gardner said the whole school was distressed by the news but particularly the students in Year 10 who know Tegan.
“The thoughts and prayers of all at the school go to the Lloyd family and the other families whose children were in the accident,” she said.
Ms Gardner said the Regional Schools Director Bob Aston had also been in touch and offered the department’s support.
Bega Valley Shire Council Mayor Tony Allen has offered the condolences of the community, councillors and staff to the families of the four young people.
“Words are not enough to convey the sadness we are feeling as a community; sadness for the young people involved, their families, their friends, their teachers,” he said.
“We can only pray for them all and offer our sincerest condolences.
“Our thoughts also go out to the rescue workers who attended the accident and dealt so professionally with the horrors they encountered.”
* With the Sydney Morning Herald