Bellambi and the broader community in Woonona and Bulli are grieving the loss of a 12-year-old boy.
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The Illawarra Mercury has chosen not to name or publish a photograph of him out of respect for his family and culture.
It has been disappointing to see media coverage of the boy's death over the last two days.
As journalists, we have a job to do. We seek out truth and understanding. At times that means asking difficult questions at the worst possible time.
But at the Mercury, we endeavour to ask those questions with respect and compassion. We have the privilege of telling stories about people.
We are often invited into the best and the worst moments of their lives. With that privilege comes responsibility.
The Illawarra Mercury has said this before, but it's worth saying again.
As a publisher, we have a responsibility to inform the community about what happened on Tuesday morning.
We also have an ethical and legal responsibility around naming victims of crime, and in this case, we wish to have permission from the boy's family before we publish.
Police are still piecing together what happened on Tuesday morning. We know something went badly wrong.
A young boy died, and his death has ripple effects across the entire community.
The paramedics who treated him, the police who responded to the car crash, the people who left him at that address in Balgownie, the students he went to school with, and the shops he frequented.
We don't know why he was out that night, if he was even in the crashed car, or what the car was doing on the roads. The grim details will come out, but at this moment in time, everything else you've read is speculation.
Police are appealing for more information from members of the public. If you saw anything on Tuesday morning in the Towradgi Road area or the Balgownie area, come forward and let the police know.
This boy's family and the wider northern Illawarra community deserve to know what happened.
If you have information contact Wollongong police on 4226 7899 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Gayle Tomlinson
