Sole survivor’s night of terror as she breaks her silence on the shocking crash that killed her mates – and lifted the lid on a town’s dark secrets

The woman who miraculously survived a horror crash that killed two men has broken her silence one week on from the tragedy to make a bombshell claim.

Tristan ‘Tizzy’ English, 26, and Jordan Chetcuti, 26, died after a lime green Ford Falcon sedan veered off Droney Bridge and into the Richmond River at Fairy Hill, near Casino in northern NSW on March 26.

Sole survivor Tarliah Defina, 23, said she thought she was ‘going to die’ after escaping the vehicle, before a strong current swept her down the river in the dead of the night.

‘The car flipped and landed on the roof of the car,’ the mother-of-one told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.

‘I don’t remember how I escaped, next thing I remember a strong current down was pushing me further away when I tried to swim back help Tris and Jordan.’

‘I fought so hard to get to them but I couldn’t breathe and was struggling to stay afloat.’

Police rescue and SES officers rushed to the scene around 10pm after Ms Defina pulled herself from the water and ran to the nearest property several kilometres away to raise the alarm.

‘I was covered in blood, the water ripped my my clothes off, I was in socks, underwear and a jumper when I found help,’ she recalled.

Tarliah Defina can’t recall how she managed to escape a crash that killed two mates

She claims she wasn’t behind the wheel of the Ford Falcon XR6 that veered off Droney Bridge and into the Richmond River at Fairy Hill, near Casino last Wednesday night

‘The lady put me in the shower and calmed me down until the ambulance arrived.’

She also shared photos of her hands and legs covered in cuts and bruises sustained in the crash. 

The men were unable to be rescued from the submerged vehicle, which turned into a recovery operation the next day.

Ms Defina is shattered about losing two best mates whom she regarded as big brothers.

‘I feel like I should have died that night with them… I miss them so much,’ she said.

Malicious rumours and conspiracy theories have circulated in the tight knit community in the eight days since the fatal crash.

Ms Defina alleged a fourth person was in the car at the time and behind the wheel – a claim NSW Police have refuted. 

‘People want me dead, they think I was driving the car but I wasn’t,’ she said. 

Tarliah said her hands and feet were covered in cuts and bruises after the crash

Tarliah Defina said she thought she was ‘going to die’ after escaping the vehicle. Pictured are

‘I was in the back [seat] with Tristan and Jordan was in the front passenger seat next to the [mystery] driver..’

‘I don’t remember his name [the driver] or what he looked like but he was good friends with the boys.’

She claimed the group were driving to her aunt’s house to exchange a puppy before the sedan spun out of control while driving on the country road.

A NSW Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were not investigating a fourth occupant in the vehicle.

‘Investigations are still ongoing but we are not looking into a fourth occupant involved in the crash.’ they said.

A family member of one of the victims said they alerted police about Ms Defina’s disappearance and pleaded for police to move the investigation forward.

‘I alerted Casino police…’ said one relative who did not wish to be named.

‘[But] they said any potential charges won’t be laid until they get their ‘ducks in a row’.’

Ms Defina says she is estranged from her mum, Michelle ‘Shelley’ Linney after she began a relationship with her stepfather Adam ‘Richo’ Richardson two years ago.

‘Yes we are in a relationship, but I never called him dad,’ she admitted.

‘I don’t have anything to do with my mum, she thinks I stole her family from her but they broke up way before we got together.. she just refused to accept it.’

Tarliah Defina and her stepfather Adam ‘Richo’ Richardson have been in a relationship for two years

Jordan Chetcuti (pictured) was released from jail a week earlier and was days away from his 27th birthday when his life was tragically cut short

Tristan ‘Tizzy’ English died in the horrific crash in Fairy Hill, near Casino last Wednesday night

Heartbroken relatives of the two victims previously spoke out in the wake of their deaths.

Chloe O’Halloran, the ex-partner of Chetcuti, and mother of his son, Anarki, wants the mysterious circumstances surrounding the crash to be fully investigated.

She received a video from her ex moments before the vehicle ploughed into Richmond River.

The video appeared to show a man’s dirt-covered and wet, puckered foot while music blared in the background.

The mother-of-one said her ex was determined to turn around his life after being released only three days earlier from a stint in prison.

Chloe O’Halloran, the ex-partner of Chetcuti, and mother of his son, Anarki wants the mysterious circumstances surrounding the crash to be fully investigated

Police and SES crews retrieved the men’s bodies from the submerged car last Thursday

‘He was a changed man when he left Clarence [correctional centre] on Sunday, he was ready to be a parent,’ Ms O’Halloran said.

We met up at the park and he was so patient with Anarki, who is non-verbal autistic… he bought him lunch and a toy from the cheap shop.

‘I feel like his life was ripped from my son before he got a chance to even be a dad.’

Tristan’s mother, Nancy English echoed Chloe’s concerns about the crash.

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