Quite simply, speed kills.

It has such tragic consequences and a lasting impact on those left behind.

Alas, the region lost another young man to our roads in the early hours of Friday morning.

One young man is dead and another is fighting for his life, lucky to be pulled from the burning wreckage he was at the wheel of when it slammed into a tree at speed.

His mate, the passenger, was not so lucky. He will have to live with that.

A horrid state of affairs.

All for what?

Our readers on Facebook echoed the sentiments of many in the community.

“When will people learn to slow down and stop driving like idiots! Someone has lost their life because of someone else. It’s tragic not just for the family but also the emergency services who have to attend these accidents,’’ one reader said.

“Please also spare a thought for the residents who went to help - I can't imagine how they must be feeling knowing they couldn't get one person out of the car,” another said.

“Everyone please slow down especially the young inexperienced drivers. This is a parent’s worst fear when their children get their Ps. Speed kills. Condolences to the family of this young man,’’ another pleaded.

“Condolences to the family of the deceased and sending strength to the survivor and his family to get through the next year of trauma. Such a sad story and a message to ALL drivers, SLOW DOWN,” echoed another.

Hopefully these messages get through to the people that need to hear them most.

When you are speeding it is not only your life you are putting at risk.

Terrifyingly the state’s road toll is has already well exceeded last years.

Currently the road tolls stands at 357.

The entire road toll for last year was 322.

So we’re already had more deaths on our roads and we have a month including the “silly season” to come.

So many households will have empty places around the Christmas table this year.

The message from police, the community and this masthead is a united one.

“Just slow down, that’s the message,” Lake Illawarra Police Inspector Paul Allman said. 

One of the victim’s friends commented on social media on Friday and echoed the sentiments: “We all lost a brother today and the pain will never stop so please stay smart on the roads.”