"It doesn't make sense to me. I just don't get it."
She took a piece of the car's wreckage from the scene as a memento.
Niko Hill's father learned of his death through a phone call late on Saturday night.
He said his heart was broken. He was not ready to speak more about Niko last night as he prepared to travel to Timaru to support the teen's mother and wider family.
Javarney's father Stephen Drummond told Stuff he went to bed on Saturday night expecting his son would soon return home to have his dinner and go to sleep.
"I went to bed, and I was asleep and my daughter was a bit concerned at what happened, and she got a couple of messages saying 'hey sorry your brother's dead, he's had a car crash.'"
He told Stuff the driver had only had his restricted licence for three months.
"I'm not angry at him, I'm just disappointed in the way the whole lot has unfolded. There's no point in taking any stress or any anger out on anybody because it's not going to bring my son back. At the end of the day it's not going to bring the five kids back.
Aoraki Area Commander Inspector Dave Gaskin looks at the wreckage of last night's fatal crash. Photo / George Heard
The 19-year-old driver was well enough to post a message on social media this afternoon, including a photograph of himself in his hospital bed, apologising for the crash.
"Hello everyone just wanted to say I'm not dead I am very very lucky to still be alive and I can't believe what has happened," he wrote, in a post reported by Stuff.
"And I am so so so sorry to the families that I have put in pain coz of stupid mistakes that I made that has costed five lives."
The reality of a horrific crash has begun to sink in for the shocked Timaru community.
Timaru mayor Nigel Bowen said the crash was an absolute tragedy that had affected not only the boys' immediate families but local schools and the wider community.
"It's just starting to settle in. It's really hard to put into words. It's going to take some time," he said.
The victims – all aged 15 and 16 – were killed when the Nissan Bluebird sedan they were travelling in struck a power pole on Seadown Rd outside Timaru about 7.30pm last night.
One of the victims was found in the vehicle's boot.
The 19-year-old driver survived the crash and is in Timaru Hospital.
The car was ripped in half when it crashed. Police allowed media to view the wreckage today. Photo / George Heard
As Timaru residents came to terms the tragedy today, Bowen had a message for his community - to put themselves in the shoes of the victims' families.
"I just can't imagine having a teenager leave home and not return and having that awful phone call.
"When we can put ourselves in other people's shoes, we can hopefully reserve judgement around the accident itself and look at the people and how that affects their lives."
Police say speed and alcohol were factors in the crash. There were six people in the car, and not all were wearing seatbelts.
Five teenagers died after the car they were in hit this pole last night. Photo / George Heard
Bowen said young people were going home today and hugging their parents, and being thankful for being able to do that.
"There are six kids who haven't been able to do that last night. I think amongst the community... the schools and the youngsters... they'll be thinking really hard about this and what it means, driving and being in motor vehicles and making good decisions.
"All those lessons come out in time, but it doesn't give back those parents their children, so it's really tough."
