Instead of celebrating the 18th birthday of Wollongong teen Adrian Voltz with a homemade cake, his heartbroken mother, friends and family mourned his death at the scene of a fatal crash.
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Andrea Ganitis spent Christmas Day without her son and continues to try make sense of what happened to her "baby boy".
She was overcome with grief and tears as she hugged those who also loved her son.
Ms Ganitis looked with despair at the tyre marks still on Lake Entrance Road - signs of a chaotic collision between her son on a motorbike and a driver on Wednesday about 5.45am.
It was the first time Ms Ganitis had been to the intersection on Madigan Boulevard where her son died.
"It is a big mess," she said looking at the tyre marks. "I can't make any sense of it.
"He was my baby boy," she said before breaking down into tears.
Tributes of flowers were left at the scene of the crash as Adrian's loved ones poured a small part of their beers to honour the teen.
Adrian's best friend and one of Ms Ganitis' friend's organised to have people gather at the site yesterday afternoon to mark the teen's birthday.
"It means a lot seeing everyone here," Ms Ganitis told the Mercury, adding she said it "hurt" to see the flowers.
Ms Ganitis said her son would have enjoyed celebrating his birthday with his friends and family and "usually I make a cake for him every year" and "chocolate was his favourite."
"I was going through all these photos and videos last night. I could see how happy he always was."
Police officers informed Ms Ganitis Adrian had been killed on Wednesday.
"I actually went looking for him that morning because I heard about the crash," she said.
"Someone texted me to ask if he was alright because he was worried it could have been Adrian.
"I went looking for him at the house he was staying at and he wasn't there and I knew that when he wasn't there it was him."
The bike was destroyed with its debris strewn across the intersection following the crash.
The driver of the vehicle, a grey sedan, was a 61-year-old woman who was taken to Wollongong Hospital for mandatory testing.
Ms Ganitis said she had been surrounded by love following Adrian's death, with many people sending her messages of support.
Adrian's aunty Emily Voltz said he was the first-born grandson of the family.
"He was the favourite. He was everything to us. He was our best friend, not just our son, our nephew or cousin. He was a part of us.
"Adrian was beautiful. He never had an angry side. He was only ever lovely. We are so lost without him. It will take some time to accept it."
Adrian was described as a "mummy's boy" because he always supported her.
"He followed me to South Australia and back. He would come with me everywhere," Ms Ganitis said.
They would go for bike rides, to the beach and for walks into the bush where they would catch lizards and snakes.
Adrian loved the outdoors which Ms Ganitis said was a reflection of his Aboriginal heritage.
Adrian's uncle Oliver Raymen said his nephew was his "best mate" who loved motorbikes, his family and friends.
Mr Raymen said Adrian "lived life to the fullest".
"He was fun, as loyal as they come and he loved his mum more than anyone. He stood by her through everything," he said.
"He was always there for his mum and sister. He was always trying to be the man of the house and he took that role very seriously. Family was the most important thing to him.
"We used to hang out a lot. We would go for walks, and we would love riding motorbikes or pushbikes."
Ms Ganitis said her son's funeral would be held in the new year.
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