Five young men dead after car hits tree

Five of six teenagers crowded into a car died when the P-plate driver lost control
and smashed into a tree at 140km/h, in a crash emergency workers said was the worst
they had ever seen.
The horror crash in Melbourne's north in the early hours of Sunday also left a
15-year-old girl seriously injured.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Tim Cartwright said the driver of the Ford
XR6 sedan carrying six people from a party in Ivanhoe at about 1.50am (AEDT) lost
control on Plenty Road, Mill Park, in perfect conditions.
Careering through the Childs Road intersection, the P-plate driver swerved onto the
median strip, spun out of control then swerved back onto the road before the car
ploughed into a large tree on the verge, Mr Cartwright said.
Mr Cartwright estimated the vehicle was travelling at 140km/h when it struck and
wrapped itself around the tree, which fell on to the car splitting the vehicle
apart.
"As far as we can tell the car's doing about 140km/h, just crazy speeds," he told
reporters at the scene.
"There are six young people on board, five of them have died instantly.
"How many times do we have to say to people: `Speed kills'?
"This isn't speed, this is just lunacy."
Those killed included driver Steve Johnstone, 19, and his half-brother Will
Te-Whare, 15, both of South Morang.
Ben Hall, 19, and Matt Lister, 17, also of South Morang, were killed.
The injured girl, Elissa Iannetta, lost her 18-year-old brother, Anthony, in the
accident.
She is in a serious but stable condition in Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Ambulance paramedic Ron McLeod said rescue workers had to lift three of the dead
teenagers off the 15-year-old to free her from the wreckage.
"I've been a paramedic for 30 years and this is the most horrific scene I've ever
seen," Mr McLeod told reporters.
He said the 15-year-old was "lucky to be alive".
Elissa's uncle, Santo Sutera, said Anthony had saved her life seconds before the crash.
"She just told us that her brother saved her life. As the car started swerving he
grabbed her and put her in his lap and he went over her. So, that's what saved her,"
he said.
The siblings' mother Rose told reporters the crash was a tragic lesson for all young
people.
"These kids have to learn. They have to understand that their life can be taken away
just like that - just like that," she told reporters outside the Royal Melbourne
Hospital.
The driver's brother Grant Johnstone told Network Ten the accident was the result of
"stupidity".
"It's just stupidity ... learn from this," he said.
Ben Hall's father Mark said there should be more restrictions on what kind of cars
young people could drive.
Steve Johnstone's girlfriend Natalie Bryant, 18, was among about 100 mourners who
visited the scene of the accident on Sunday afternoon.
Wearing a pink hoodie and with red and swollen eyes, she said her boyfriend had been
"the nicest person on earth".
She said Mr Johnstone had been a third-year apprentice roof tiler.
Carload after carload of friends and family arrived at the scene, with many placing
flowers on the fallen tree which split the car into pieces.
Police have ruled out drag racing as a factor in the crash but witnesses are being
urged to come forward.
Mr Cartwright said the Ford sedan was high-powered but within the categories of cars
allowed for P-plate drivers.
He said pathology tests would determine whether alcohol and drugs played a role.
Victoria's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) Minister Tim Holding said the fatal
smash was every family's worst nightmare.
"Our thoughts and our prayers are with the family and the friends and the loved ones
of five young men whose lives have been tragically cut short, and, of course, one
young woman who is still in hospital," he told reporters in Melbourne.
Victoria's 2010 road toll stands at 12, compared with 20 at the same time last year.