A heartbroken mother has spoken out about the chilling last conversation hse had with her just days before he was killed in a horrific crash.
Joshua Elmes, 15, was one of four people killed when the red Toyota Corolla they were travelling in veered off Wannon-Nigretta Falls Road at Bochara, 320km west of Melbourne and smashed into a tree early Saturday morning.
Alicia Montebello, 31, Lucus Garzoli, 17, and Meghan Fox, 14, were also killed while the sole crash survivor, 17, remains seriously injured in hospital.
Joshua’s parents Matthew and Lee-Ann Elmes have spoken out about the tragedy and that they had warned their son not to get in the car with a woman who was reportedly driving dangerously just last year following ‘an incident’.
Mr Elmes also revealed how Joshua admitted to him he was in a car with friends doing ‘donuts’ just a week before the crash.
The couple have no bitterness towards whoever was behind the wheel.
Hours before his death, Joshua was enjoying a Christian youth program and later decided to go out after an argument at home with his parents.
Joshua Elmes’ parents (pictured together with their three children including Josh left) have spoken out about the tragedy which has devastated their family
‘I said goodnight to him and that I love you and five minutes later I heard the front door open and close,’ Ms Elmes told Sunrise.
‘I rang him and I said: ‘Where are you going?’ and he said: ‘I’m going for a walk and I’ll see you soon’.
‘I never heard from him again’.
Her husband shared his message to his son after Joshua recently told him he had been ‘doing donuts’ in a car with friends.
‘I just said: ‘Look, one wrong decision can impact the rest of your life,’ and he said to me: ‘I’m not that stupid, Dad, I wouldn’t do that” Mr Elmes recalled.
Le-Ann broke down while delivering a passionate message to other teens in the hope other lives won’t be lost.
‘I want the youth of Hamilton and however far this goes to please think of your loved ones when you leave the front door,’ she pleaded.
‘Think of them, think of what could happen in those hours between when you leave and when you get home.
‘I’m pleading to Victoria, the whole of Australia, please do the right thing.’
‘If it’s in legacy of Josh, I don’t care, just do the right thing and come home to your parents because it’s a parent’s worst nightmare to lose a child.’
Joshua’s parents were concerned the group he had been associating with had been ‘pushing the boundaries too much, driving too fast’.
‘Eventually, Josh stopped hopping in the car for the last four months, as far as we know. I might not have even found out he was in the car if they didn’t have the accident,’ Mr Elmes told The Age.
Joshua’s parents Matthew and Lee-Ann Elmes (pictured) phoned their son after he went out on Friday night following an argument at home. It would be the last time they would speak to him
Teen Joshua Elms (pictured) had been warned about not getting into the car of a ‘dangerous driver’ months before he was killed, his shattered parents has revealed
The couple also revealed they went to police about a woman with concerns she was driving dangerously.
It’s unclear if that was the same woman who may have been behind the wheel on Saturday.
Mr Elmes also told the Herald Sun that Joshua was prone to making ‘impulsive decisions’ after he was diagnosed with ADHD.
He added that teens had been seeking out adrenaline rush activities, including speeding.
‘That’s what has been happening with these kids [from Hamilton],’ Mr Elmes said.
‘They’re just pushing the boundaries too much; they’re driving too fast just for the adrenaline rush.’
Joshua has been remembered as a larrikin teen who was mad about motorbikes, loved playing the drums and as a devoted big brother to his two siblings.
He had also just started his first job working at Coles.
Joshua (back) was close to his dad Matthew (right) and younger brother Aaron (front)
Three teens and a woman were killed when a red Toyota Corolla (pictured) veered off Wannon-Nigretta Falls Road at Bochara
Joshua’s younger brother Aaron, 12, found a note Joshua wrote on his laptop outlining his life dreams and what he wanted to achieve in the next 10 years.
He wished to join the ADF and fly jets, having spent the past three years as a cadet at Monivae College.
He then wanted to buy buying a rural property and settle down to raise a young family, even naming the girl he wanted to marry.
Ms Elmes doesn’t harbour any hatred or forgiveness towards whoever was behind the wheel.
‘It’s happened and we can’t bring them back. It’s easy to blame someone, but why?’ she said.
‘A parent’s worst nightmare is losing a child, people say that and warn us that you don’t want your kids doing silly things. But you don’t understand that until it happens to you.’
Joshua Elmes (pictured) loved playing the drums, according to his family
Joshua Elmes (pictured) was killed alongside Lucas Garzoli. He too is believed to have been an Army cadet
She has set up an online fundraiser for the victims’ families which has so far raised more than $7000.
‘I am one of the grieving parents in Hamilton Victoria who has lost my beautiful child in a devastating crash. I would love to help the other grieving parents who have lost angels or have one badly hurt,’ the page states.
‘This is to help with funeral costs and any other expenses in the next coming weeks and months.
‘I just want to say that our angels are in heaven and no longer in pain, and we will one day see them all again.
Meghan Fox, 14, was killed in the horror crash on Saturday
Lucus Garzoli had been an Army cadet. He tragically died on Saturday in the horrific car wreck
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said on Monday an examination of the crash reconstruction revealed the car was travelling ‘well in excess of 100km/h’.
‘To do that speed on that road at that time of day, any time really, is just incomprehensible to me,’ Mr Weir told ABC radio.
He further revealed police believe a number of passengers weren’t wearing seat belts, with specialised investigators still trying to determine who was driving.
Police are hoping CCTV footage may shed light on what time the accident happened and how long it was before the crash was spotted and the alarm raised
Ten have been killed in six separate accidents on Victoria’s roads since Friday.
The state’s 2023 road toll stands at 133, 37 more than the same time last year.
Alicia Montebello, 31, (pictured) also died in Saturday’s horror crash
Investigators removed the wreckage of the car to be further examined
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