The grieving relatives of the five children who were killed in a horrific crash at Buxton have described their immense pain and agony, with some calling for a lengthy sentence of the sole survivor.
Melanie Van de Putte lost her 14-year-old daughter Lily, when Tyrell Edwards crashed his mother's Nissan Navara into a tree after he recklessly sped through the Wollondilly on September 6, 2022.
She described the emotional roller coaster of falling pregnant with Lily after IVF and said she never expected her to be taken away after such a short time.
"I go to bed at night hoping that I will not wake up the next day just to alleviate that daily pain I go through," Ms Van de Putte said on Tuesday.
"I have a lot of anger in my heart, anger towards the person that took her away from me.
"I question why this has happened when it could have been avoided very easily."
Twenty-six people shared their heartache in victim impact statements as Edwards sat in the dock at a packed out Campbelltown District Court for his sentence hearing.
The now 20-year-old was taken into custody after he pleaded guilty to five counts of aggravated driving occasioning death at Picton Local Court in August.
Edwards was 18 when he crashed the ute, killing three girls and two boys aged between 14 and 16, devastating the tight-knit Wollondilly community.
He picked up the two boys from a Bargo service station shortly before 6pm then "frequently exceeded the speed limit", crown prosecutor Monika Knowles said.
Edwards hit up to 147kmh and filmed himself swerving, with one of the passengers yelling "f---" and "we're going to spin out cuz".
He then picked up two girls at Tahmoor about 7.15pm, before he picked up the final passenger.
Edwards was speeding at about 117kmh in a 60kmh zone when he lost control of the dual-cab ute on East Parade at Buxton.
The vehicle slammed into a tree, spun backwards, and slammed into another tree, which tore open the rear cabin and threw four of the five victims out.
Families clutched photos of the Picton High School students and wore memorial shirts in court, while some choked through tears as they remembered receiving early morning calls from relatives rushing to the crash scene.
Lily's father, John Van de Putte, wore a short with the slogan 'Think of the Five, stay alive' in a nod to the road safety campaign founded in honour of the victims.
Mr Van de Putte said as he looked around the courtroom, he saw devastated parents who would never have grandchildren or watch their kids fall in love.
"Every day I think about the amount of pain and suffering that these people and myself are going through," he said.
"I cannot stop thinking about why, as an adult, you would be so reckless, so flippant, about the road rules.
"You passed the driving test, so you knew the rules."
He said his purpose in life has been taken away, and feels as though he failed his daughter as "I have not kept her safe during her short life".
"I trusted you to keep her safe," Mr Van de Putte said.
"You, as the adult, did not. Lily was a child, and you did not behave like an adult.
"No matter what you get, it will not bring back the five lives."
Lily's sister became emotional as she directly addressed Edwards about his "stupid" decision, while her aunts wiped tears away saying Lily was "stolen away from us too early".
Others took to the stand and said the justice system had let them down, as Edwards had twice lost his licence before the fatal incident.
"No sentence would be long enough in my eyes, Tyrell," one relative said.
The court heard Edwards had been suffering suicidal thoughts since the collision and has "deep feelings of guilt, shame, and the desire for self-punishment".
"He knows he has to face up to what has happened and to take responsibility," Edwards' barrister Greg James KC said.
Edwards apologised in a letter read out by Mr James, saying "I wish so much I could take it all back."
"I know that serving a sentence won't be good enough for the damage that has been done."
Judge Christopher O'Brien adjourned Edwards' sentence to December 1.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
