Three teenage girls - two aged 14 and one aged 15 - and two teenage boys - one aged 15 and one aged 16 - died at the scene. Photo / NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw
Three teenage girls - two aged 14 and one aged 15 - and two teenage boys - one aged 15 and one aged 16 - died at the scene. Photo / NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw
Footage captured in the lead-up to a horror NSW crash that claimed five young lives could be used to prosecute the driver, a court has been told.
Tyrell Edwards was refused bail at Picton Court after a magistrate heard the 18-year-old had a history of speeding and multiple licence suspensions.
Edwards was behind the wheel when his Nissan Navara ute smashed into a tree in Buxton, an hour south of Sydney, on Tuesday night.
Five of his friends, aged between 14 and 16, were killed in the incident that left him with only minor injuries.
On Wednesday, he was charged with five counts of dangerous driving occasioning death – driving in a manner dangerous.
According to court documents, police located a video on Edwards' phone taken roughly an hour before the crash that showed him driving dangerously while travelling at speeds of about 90km/h.
Edwards is seen holding his phone with one hand while "purposely and aggressively" turning the wheel with the other as the vehicle swerves "violently", court documents stated.
At the time only the two male victims were in the car, who can be heard laughing and yelling with loud music in the background.
The court also heard Edwards had his provisional licence suspended twice for speeding in just over a year.
On both occasions, Edwards lost his licence for three months for travelling between 10 and 20km/h over the speed limit.
Despite Edwards having no criminal history, magistrate Mark Douglass said he had concerns about him abiding by any bail conditions imposed.
The court was also told that Edwards had suffered from anxiety in the past and was "significantly traumatised" by the incident.
Following the crash, Edwards was taken to Liverpool Hospital for mandatory blood and alcohol testing before being released into the care of his mother.
According to police, an initial breath test conducted at the scene was negative.
Officers returned to Edwards' residence in Bargo to arrest him.
He was taken to Narellan Police Station, where he was charged and refused bail.
Emergency services were called to the intersection of Orange Rd and East Parade, Buxton, just after 8pm Tuesday.
Images of the crash site show an obliterated vehicle, next to which Edwards was found with non-life threatening injuries.
Three teenage girls – two aged 14 and one aged 15 – and two teenage boys – one aged 15 and one aged 16 – died at the scene.
Acting Inspector Jason Hogan, from the metropolitan crash investigation unit, described the scene as "confronting".
"At this stage, we are investigating all lines of inquiry, but our preliminary investigations would indicate that speed is a possible factor in relation to this crash," he said.
Police have appealed for any information or dashcam footage that could assist with their inquiries.
