Bochara Victoria crash: Alicia Montebello warned about dangerous driving weeks before horror smash
The woman who died in a horrific car accident along with three teenagers was warned by a magistrate about her dangerous driving a few weeks earlier.
Alicia Montebello, 31, and three teenagers were killed last month when her red Toyota Corolla hatchback swerved off a country road and crashed into a tree near Bochara in southwest Victoria.
The young victims were Hamilton teens Meghan Fox, 14, Joshua Elmes, 15, and Lucas Gorzali, 14. Meghan’s sister Jorja survived the crash despite life-threatening injuries.
It has now emerged that Montebello was cautioned about her risky driving while appearing at Warrnambool Magistrates’ Court in April – just six weeks before the fatal collision.
Alicia Montebello (pictured), 31, was warned by a magistrate about her dangerous driving just weeks before the horror attack that killed her and three teenagers
The car at the center of a fatal accident in Bochara (pictured) was declared impassable by police weeks before the accident
“As far as driving, make sure they are responsible,” magistrate Franz Holzer told Montebello after pleading guilty to deliberately damaging Branxholme Recreation Reserve, near Hamilton, when she was caught tearing up the turf of the oval during February burnouts.
The magistrate, she said, decided not to restrict her license Nine newspapers.
Montebello, a Coles cashier, also pleaded guilty to stalking the Fox sisters at the April 14 trial.
Some concerned parents also told police they feared their teenage daughter – who is not being identified by Daily Mail Australia – was being groomed for sex by Ms Montebello.
Daily Mail Australia previously revealed a series of online messages from the adult to the teen, almost half her age, telling her, “I love you… I love you little one.”
In another message, she added, “My dear friend – I love you little one.”
Montebello was fined $700 without conviction for willful damage, two counts of stalking, and four counts of breaching bail.
In addition to these charges, Ms. Montebello also had a long traffic history.
She was disqualified from driving in January 2015 after being caught drunk in an unregistered car in South Australia.
Jorja and Meghan Fox were involved in a shocking crash just outside Hamilton. Meghan died and Jorja suffered life-threatening injuries
Teenagers Joshua Elmes (left) and Lucus Garzoli were both tragically killed in the crash
Montebello was suspended for four months and 14 days, but in February 2016 she was again banned from driving and given a 12-day suspended prison sentence.
She had previously faced other charges of speeding, driving an unregistered vehicle, and driving with alcohol in her blood while on P plates, as well as drug possession charges.
Earlier this month, it was reported that police had declared Montebello’s car roadworthy.
The father of one of the teens who died in the tragic accident revealed that he warned his son not to get in the car with Ms. Montebello.
Matthew Elmes, 46, father of Joshua, feared Ms Montebello was a dangerous driver feeding the youngsters’ need for fast paced thrills.
“If you want an adrenaline rush, it’s probably better to go to a theme park or skydive, but don’t get in a car,” Mr Elmes said.
Ms. Montebello had been regularly seen driving the Corolla in the area prior to the crash and reportedly encouraged her passengers not to wear seatbelts while driving “irregularly”.
Montebello (pictured) reportedly sat in Warrnambool Magistrates’ Court just six weeks before the crash, where she was fined $700 without conviction for willful damage, stalking and bail violations
Mother’s Facebook post pleading with people in the Hamilton area to stop tearing down a memorial to Alicia Montebello who died in the crash
Parents told police they feared their teenage daughter – who is not being identified by Daily Mail Australia – was being groomed for sex by Alicia Montebello (pictured)
A terrifying video apparently taken inside the car was posted to Snapchat just hours before the crash and appears to show it traveling down a country road at 80 mph.
Police say they have not yet been able to determine who was behind the wheel of the car when it crashed and are still investigating.
Montebello’s distraught mother, Debbie, begged the locals to stop tearing down a memorial to her daughter.
“PLEASE STOP STOP,” she wrote on a Hamilton resident’s Facebook group.
“I beg the people of Hamilton to stop vandalizing our daughter and sister’s memorial. It kills us.
“We know you’re all mad at Alicia. But please stop. We mourn and hurt too.’