A couple who were killed in a horror head-on crash in central west NSW left behind five children aged between 16 and 26.
A ute carrying three teenagers collided with a van carrying Graham and Sue Tait, both 57, on the Newell Highway, 35km south of Dubbo, at 9.20pm on Friday night.
Last night, Parkes Early Childhood Centre shared the sad news their assistant director Ms Tait and her bus driver husband were deceased in the accident.
‘Over the weekend, our amazing assistant director Sue Tait and her husband Graham were tragically killed in a head-on collision,’ a statement read.
‘Sue has been working at PECC for 17 years. She was known for being a strong constant backbone of PECC who thoroughly enjoyed coming to work each and every day.
‘Her husband Graham was a well respected and experienced coach driver.’
The childhood centre has remained open despite the tragedy.
Parkes Shire Council deputy mayor Marg Applebee shared a touching memory of the pair.
Parkes Early Childhood Centre assistant director Sue Tait and husband Graham (both pictured) were also tragically killed in the crash
‘This was such heartbreaking news. I first met Sue when my men were just little people. It is hard to believe I will never see her smiling, friendly face again,’ she said.
‘Thank you Miss Sue and Graham for being part of the positive, reliable, encouraging framework of our community.
‘Love to your family, dear people. Our community wraps their arms around you all. Pieces of our community are gone, but not forgotten.’
Over a hundred locals had shared memories of the Taits’ kindness both in their jobs and in the general community.
Former parents and students remembered ‘Miss Sue’ as a woman who ‘always had a happy, welcoming smile’.
A neighbour recalled years spent visiting the Taits’ ‘happy household’ for a ‘cuppa and a chat’.
‘A very empathetic, sensitive soul, Sue always had a smile and positive attitude – something that endeared her to all PECC’s staff and families over the years,’ another remembered.
‘I will forever be grateful for her encouragement in parenting, her guidance in helping my daughter grow with confidence and her commitment to our community,’ one thankful mother wrote.
A GoFundMe has raised over $22,000 within a day to help support the Taits’ children.
Lochie Jacobs, 18, and his childhood friend Joey Urban, 19, were passengers in a Toyota HiLux that collided head-on with Mr and Ms Tait’s van.
Paramedics desperately tried to revive the teenagers but they died at the scene, while the 23-year-old driver of the ute was rushed to hospital with leg injuries.
Lochie Jacobs, 18, was killed in the car crash on Friday night. He and his best mate tragically lost their lives
Joey Urban, 19, was also killed in the crash, near Dubbo, in central west NSW
Tributes have poured in for the pair as well. Loved ones lamented losing Lochie just two years after burying his father.
‘Rest in peace Lochie, give your dad the biggest hug, he will be so proud of the young man you have grown to be,’ one loved one wrote.
‘Last night the world lost a beautiful young man. Two years ago, I attended your father’s funeral but I never thought I would have to go to your funeral Lochie,’ another said.
Some of the debris from the crash remained on the side of the highway on Sunday, where friends of the teenagers’ began to lay flowers in honour of the best mates.
Mr Urban’s sister remembered him as the ‘best brother a sister could ask for’ and said she would ‘drink a few Tooheys’ on his behalf.
‘I love you so incredibly much, you will be missed by so many,’ she wrote.
Another friend said they can ‘rest easy, beautiful boys’.
‘The world is so cruel at times! Too young,’ they wrote.
Mr Jacobs had run an agricultural business, Jacobs rural contracting, since April after finishing school at St Stanislaus’ agricultural College in Bathurst.
His final post to social media on Wednesday urged his followers to donate to his friend’s fundraiser for mental health.
Mr Urban was known as ‘one of the funniest buggers’ among his friends.
Lochie and his childhood best friend, Joey Urban, were tragically killed after the ute they were in collided head-on with a van on the Newell Highway on Friday night (pictured)
‘My thoughts are with everyone and all the families affected by this horror,’ local MP Stephen Lawrence said on Sunday.
‘I know the Parkes community will rally around your children.’
Mr Lawrence described the crash as an ‘appalling carnage’ that took the lives of four people, raising NSW’s road death toll to 248 this year.
Investigators are looking into whether one of the drivers overtook a road train on double lines and into a blind corner just prior to the crash.
First responders to the crash have reportedly been receiving counselling while the mangled vehicles have been seized as part of investigations.
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