'ABSOLUTE CHAOS': Five teens killed in 'devastating' crash near Sydney
Five young people have died following a horrific car crash southwest of Sydney with emergency services describing the scene as "absolute chaos"
An 18-year-old man survived the single-vehicle car crash after his Nissan Navara ute left the road and ploughed into a tree on East Pde at Buxton – a small town near Picton – just after 8pm on Tuesday.
When emergency services arrived, they found five teens - three females and two males - who had already died at the scene, NSW Police said in a statement.
The driver was arrested after being treated by NSW Ambulance Paramedics and taken to Liverpool Hospital for mandatory testing. He sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Horrific accident one of 'worst' police have seen
Some of the deceased are believed to be as young as "14 or 15" police confirmed and went to school locally at Picton, according to reports.
Camden police superintendent Paul Fuller described the crash as "one of the worst accident scenes I’ve ever come across" in his 38-year career.
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"We’ve located three teenage girls and two teenage boys [deceased in the vehicle], they’re all local kids, they all go to the local high school," he said.
"So it’s a horrific accident scene and a tragedy of this magnitude is going to have ripple effects … for their families, friends and through the local community."
Being a small tight-knit community, some of the emergency crew who attended the scene would likely know the victims, he said. They and the students of Picton High will be offered counselling.
Investigation underway
Footage from the scene shows the Nissan Navara in pieces nearby trees and homes. Fire and Rescue NSW confirmed on Twitter that a medical team arrived by helicopter.
Police confirmed an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash is underway.
Whether or not the driver had been speeding at the time of the crash is yet to be determined.
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