The five smiling children in this happy family snap are now orphans – after their parents were among four wiped out in a horrific highway death crash

The five children of a couple killed in a head-on crash in central west NSW have become dependent on public assistance to help them get through the shock of losing both their parents.

The four daughters and son of bus driver Graham Tait and his nursery school director wife Sue “did everything together as a family,” reports say.

The children – Bernadette, Jessica, Katherine, Alec and Felicity – don’t have many other family members to support them.

The Taits, both aged 57, died when their van collided with a ute carrying two teenagers and a 23-year-old man on the Newell Highway, 35km south of Dubbo, at 9.20pm last Friday evening.

The fatal crash also claimed the lives of Lochie Jacobs, 18, and his childhood friend Joey Urban, 19, who were passengers in a Toyota HiLux that crashed head-on with the Tait’s van.

The 23-year-old driver of the ute, who suffered leg injuries, has since been charged with four counts of dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving, failing to properly fasten seat belts and driving with passenger seat belts not properly fastened.

Mrs Tait was assistant principal at Parkes Early Childhood Center where she taught for 17 years, and Graham Tait was a bus driver in the Parkes community.

The centre’s director and family spokesperson Amii Marchant said the loving mother played a crucial role in the lives of many children.

“She was so important, like hundreds of children over the years that she now taught, we will remember her beautiful, big, loud laugh,” Mrs Marchant said.

‘She actually had a soft spot for the two-year-old room, the little toddlers. You must be a very, very special person to enjoy that room to the fullest every day.’

Ms Marchant said Mr Tait was a ‘collector … of cars and books, and model cars, even phonographs.

“He was just a great father and husband.”

A The gofundme campaign has been launched to help their five children, aged 16 to 26.

“They don’t have a lot of extended family to support them,” Ms. Marchant said.

‘The GoFundMe is intended to help them get through the coming period with everything they need, [so] they don’t have to worry.’

A spokesperson for Parkes Early Childhood Center (PECC) added: ‘Sue was known as a strong, consistent backbone of PECC who enjoyed coming to work every day.

‘Her husband Graham was a respected and experienced bus driver.’

The children’s center has remained open despite the tragedy.

Parkes Shire Council deputy mayor Marg Applebee shared a touching memory of the couple.

‘This was such heartbreaking news. I first met Sue when my husbands were just little people. “It’s hard to believe I will never see her smiling, friendly face again,” she said.

“Thank you Mrs. Sue and Graham for being part of the positive, trustworthy and encouraging framework of our community.

‘Love to your family, dear people. Our community wraps its arms around all of you. Parts of our community are gone, but not forgotten.”

More than 100 locals shared memories of the Taits’ kindness at work and in the community on social media.

Former parents and students remembered “Miss Sue” as a woman who “always had a cheerful, welcoming smile.”

A neighbor recalled visiting the Taits’ ‘happy household’ for a ‘cup and a chat’ for many years.

“Sue was a very empathetic, sensitive soul and always had a smile and a positive attitude – something that endeared her to all PECC staff and families over the years,” another recalled.

“I will forever be grateful for her encouragement in parenting, her guidance in helping my daughter grow with confidence, and her commitment to our community,” one grateful mother wrote.

The GoFundMe has now raised over $35,000 to help support the Tait children.

At the scene of the accident last Friday, paramedics desperately tried to revive teenagers Lochie Jacobs and Joey Urban, but they died at the scene.

Tributes have been paid to the young men, with loved ones lamenting the loss of Lochie just two years after he buried his father.

“Rest in peace Lochie, give your dad the biggest hug, he will be so proud of the young man you have become,” a loved one wrote.

“Last night the world lost a beautiful young man. I was at your father’s funeral two years ago but I never thought I would have to go to your Lochie funeral,” said another.

Some of the debris from the crash remained along the highway Sunday, where friends of the teens began laying flowers in honor of their best friends.

Mr. Urban’s sister remembered him as the “best brother a sister could ask for” and said she would “drink a few Tooheys” on his behalf.

“I love you so incredibly much, you will be missed by so many,” she wrote.

Another friend said they can “rest easy, beautiful boys.”

‘The world is so cruel sometimes! Too young,” they wrote.

Mr Jacobs has been running an agricultural business, Jacobs Rural Contracting, since April after completing school at St Stanislaus’ Agricultural College in Bathurst.

In his latest social media post on Wednesday, he urged his followers to donate to his friend’s mental health fundraiser.

Mr. Urban was known as “one of the funniest buggers” among his friends.

“My thoughts are with everyone and all the families affected by this horror,” local MP Stephen Lawrence said on Sunday.

“I know the Parkes community will rally behind your children.”

Mr Lawrence described the crash as a “terrible massacre” that claimed the lives of four people, bringing the death toll in NSW to 248 this year.

Investigators are investigating whether one of the drivers overtook a road train on double lines and in a blind corner just before the crash.

First responders to the crash have reportedly been counseled while the mangled vehicles have been seized as part of investigations.

The driver accused in the crash will appear in Dubbo Local Court on October 21.