Heckenberg car crash: Candlelight vigil for brother and sister aged 15 and 24, killed in Mercedes crash in Sydney’s south west
The devastated mother of two who died in a horror crash revealed that her children have always wanted to “help people,” as locals paid their respects at a candlelight vigil.
Alina Kauffman, 24, was picking up her brother Ernesto Salazer, 15, from work when they were hit by an allegedly stolen car in Heckenberg, south-west Sydney at around 9:20pm Friday.
The Mercedes crashed into the Toyota Echo the siblings were in a few feet from their home before it hit a stationary Toyota RAV4 and flipped onto its side.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the siblings, but they both died at the scene.
About 150 people gathered on Sunday evening to pay tribute to the brother and sister who were tragically killed. During the vigil, mourners were seen placing cards, flowers and toys at the scene of the roadside accident.
The siblings’ mother, Angelina Kauffman, burst into tears after returning to the crash site on Saturday.
A vigil was held (pictured) for the brother and sister who died in a horror crash when an allegedly stolen Mercedes crashed into their car just yards away from their home in Heckenberg.
The driver of the Toyota Echo (pictured), Alina Kauffman, 24, and her 15-year-old brother Ernesto Salazer, were treated at the scene by paramedics but could not be rescued
Ms. Kauffman paid a poignant tribute to her children, describing them as “good people” who wanted to make a difference.
“My babies, they took them from me, my babies,” Ms. Kauffman said.
“My kids went to help people, my kids wanted to make a difference in this world, my kids were good people.”
“My daughter, she is such a beautiful girl, she loves her brotherand my son, he loves his sister.
‘Now my son is gone and my daughter she is gone. My children are gone and I have to live without children for the rest of my life. Why? I do not understand.’
Ms. Kauffman said Alina was a dedicated nursing student with a kind heart, while Ernesto was an animal lover who worked at K-mart to save for his first car.
She explained that her daughter had picked up her son from his new job at Kmart and the couple were almost home when they were hit by a car.
“Alina called me and said, ‘Mommy, I picked up my brother, we’re going to get some food and then we’ll come home,'” Ms. Kauffman said.
‘I said ‘are you okay’ and they said ‘yes mom’.’
Alina Kauffman (left), 24, and her brother, Ernesto Salazer (right), 15, died when the Toyota Echo they were in was struck by a supposedly stolen Mercedes just meters away from their home
Angelina Kauffman (pictured) burst into tears after returning to the scene of a horror car accident that killed her two children
Not hearing from them for 20 minutes, Ms. Kauffman and her other child traced their location via social media.
The distraught mother said she arrived at the scene just minutes after the crash.
“The police came and told me my children had died. My beautiful children,’ she continued in tears.
“These people beat my children and left them to die.”
Police arrested 20-year-old Johnson Kokozian after he turned himself in to Liverpool police station on Saturday.
Kokozian denies being behind the wheel but was charged over the crash and refused bail at Parramatta Court on Sunday.
Magistrate Rob Rabbidge, however, said he was convinced Kokozian was the Mercedes driver in what he called a “terrible situation”. Daily telegram reported.
Police have charged Johnson Kokozian (pictured) over the crash. The 20-year-old denies that he was behind the wheel of the Mercedes
The young father was charged with two counts of dangerous driving resulting in death, two counts of failing to stop and assist after colliding with the vehicle resulting in death, negligent driving resulting in death, and driving a vehicle during a disqualification period.
Coconut too he reportedly filmed himself eating KFC in the hours before turning himself in to police.
The Mercedes was reported stolen by Kokozian’s father after police visited his address about an hour after the crash.
CCTV footage reportedly shows the Mercedes driving at high speed down a residential road just minutes before the crash.
Another 18-year-old turned himself in to police on Sunday but was released without charge.
Police allege that Kokozian and two other people climbed out of the wrecked Mercedes and got into another car to drive away, after making no attempt to help the siblings who were fatally injured in the Echo.
A manhunt is underway for the other two passengers of the Mercedes who fled the scene.
Police are also looking for the person who filmed the accident victims dying in the car before sharing it on social media.
On Sunday, a six-second video circulated online of the moments after the crash, showing the two siblings trapped in the wreckage.
The gruesome video shows the youths near death, but no attempt by the cameraman to provide first aid.
Horrifying camera footage shows how the Mercedes drove across a road just before the horror crash