A man believed to have been behind the wheel of a car that crashed, killing three passengers, has been charged with negligent driving while his license was suspended.
Brooke Sorlie, 20, her boyfriend Aaron French, also 20, and their friend Charlie Quinn, 18, died at the scene on Sunday in a single-vehicle crash in Tarago, about 40km south of the New South Wales city of Goulburn.
The car left the road, rolled over and eventually came to a stop on its roof.
According to reports, the group were returning to their hometown of Nowra from Canberra after attending a 21st birthday party when the accident occurred.
Ms Sorlie’s father, Svein, who lives abroad, described his daughter in a Facebook post as “a light in any room” because of her positive attitude.
“You meant everything to me,” Mr. Sorlie wrote.
‘The loss was something that always persisted, but now it is even more intense.’
The 21-year-old male driver, Lachlan Stuckey, suffered minor injuries but was arrested on Thursday and charged with three counts of failure to pay attention resulting in death.
He was also charged with driving a motor vehicle while his licence was suspended, New South Wales police said on Friday.
Charlie Quinn and her boyfriend Lachlan Stuckey, who was reportedly behind the wheel at the time of the crash
Lachlan Stuckey (pictured) was the sole survivor of the crash. He has been charged with negligent driving while on a suspended license.
The man was granted conditional bail and will appear in Goulburn District Court on October 9.
Meanwhile, another driver was charged on Thursday over another fatal crash on the Barrier Highway outside the remote New South Wales town of Broken Hill on May 28.
The 75-year-old driver of a four-wheel drive Toyota Prado was killed in a collision with an Isuzu D-Max pick-up.
The driver of the D-Max and two passengers were also taken to hospital with non-serious injuries.
The 61-year-old driver of the van has been summoned to appear in court for dangerous driving resulting in death and careless driving resulting in death.
He is due to appear in Broken Hill District Court on September 13.
Charlie Quinn, 18, is remembered as a ‘beautiful girl’ after she died in the horrific accident
Pictured: Brooke Sorlie, 21, and Aaron French, both of whom died in the crash
Daily Mail Australia reports that the group was travelling home to the Shoalhaven region at the time of the crash.
A woman who was among the first on the scene said she and other bystanders desperately tried to save the lives of the other man and woman as they waited for emergency services to arrive.
“They were unconscious. We were giving them CPR but it just wasn’t working. It was horrible,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
One girl was still stuck in the car – the driver’s girlfriend. I can still hear his screams.
“He was screaming as he tried to get into the car and get his girlfriend out.”
The tragedy has sparked outrage online, with local residents expressing their displeasure at the condition of the road, which is often used by trucks.
“One of the worst roads I’ve ever driven on. Potholes everywhere. It’s been shocking for years,” said one.
Another added: ‘The roads are a disgrace. I drive on them a lot and it’s not fair that the roads are in this state.’
A woman claimed that there was a piece of concrete on the road near the scene of the accident, which could have created a potential obstacle for drivers.
“My family members were the first on the scene and saw a huge chunk of concrete on the road that may have caused the crash,” she wrote online.
However, another emergency worker told Daily Mail Australia he could not remember seeing the object in the road.
A report is being prepared for the coroner.