Three siblings from travelling show family killed in highway crash near Boggabilla
Three siblings travelling home from a NSW fair have been killed in a "split second" in a horrific crash between two trucks and a car in northern NSW.
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The head-on collision occurred on the Newell Highway, about 30 kilometres south of the NSW town of Boggabilla, near the Queensland border, about 6am on Monday.
Jack Pink, 19, and his sisters Marina, 17, and Destiny, 15, were killed instantly while travelling in two of the three vehicles involved in the collision.
The siblings are part of a family that works on the travelling show circuit, Showmens Guild of Australasia vice-president Broderick Pavier said.
It is believed they were travelling home to Brisbane after attending a show in Dubbo.
Their grandfather is outgoing Guild president and legendary third-generation showman George Pink, Mr Pavier confirmed.
Jack Pink was driving a pantech truck and towing a trailer. His sisters were in a car, police said.
It is understood the pantech truck and the car collided head-on with a second truck - a fuel tanker - that then caught alight.
NSW Police said an investigation had been launched to determine how the fuel tanker, the pantech truck towing a trailer, and the car collided.
A GoFundMe page set up to support the Pink family said the siblings' parents, Jaze and Glenn Pink, are "good people with an amazing family".
"What they do is everything for the kids. To lose 1 would be crazy. [The fact they] lost 3 in 1 split second is just out of this world," the page said.
"They are great people and their sacrificial love for their kids knows no bounds. This is a crushing blow to this tight knit family."
The page said Tuesday would have been Marina's 18th birthday.
Mr Pavier said the show community was small and everyone was in deep shock.
"They were young kids with their whole lives in front of them," he said. "As you can imagine, we're all pretty close. This will have a huge impact across our community."
Superintendent Glen Maule, from the Queensland Ambulance Service, said debris from the crash was spread over a large section of the highway.
Paramedics took the driver of the fuel tanker to Goondiwindi Hospital with back pain and cuts to his face, Superintendent Maule said.
The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) LifeFlight helicopter service said the tanker driver was ejected from his truck during the crash and was later airlifted to hospital with suspected head, limb and internal injuries.
Police have set up a crime scene at the crash site and will prepare a report for the coroner.
Community rallies together after fatal crash
THE tight-knit show community is rallying together after losing members of its much-loved family in a tragic accident.
The three teenagers killed in a three-vehicle accident on the Newell Highway near Boggabilla on Monday morning are believed to be from a family that works on the show circuit, and were on their way back to Queensland from the Dubbo Show.
The Goondiwindi Show Society came out in support of the affected family and friends by offering its showgrounds free to use.
“If any one of you feel that you need to stop and camp for any reason relating to this tragedy, you will be welcome,” The Showmen’s Guild of Australasia posted to Facebook on Monday afternoon.
“We are all so saddened by this enormous loss.”
The post garnered an overwhelming display of support.
Fuel-tanker, pantech truck and a car collide outside Boggabilla
Three teenagers have been killed in a horrific crash outside of Boggabilla on Monday morning.
Initial investigations suggest a fuel-tanker, a pantech truck with a trailer, and a car crashed. Emergency services were called to the scene, 30 kilometres south of Boggabilla, shortly after 6am on Monday morning.
Two occupants of the car, believed to be women, died at the scene.
It is understood the teenagers and their family were travelling back to Queensland after attending a show in Dubbo.
A spokesman from The Showmen’s Guild of Australasia said it was the saddest day their community had ever seen.
“We are a small community and we are very close to one another and everyone is affected by this,” the spokesman said.
“They were really beautiful kids, beautiful teenagers, well respected, hard working kids and everyone is mourning.
“They were part of a beautiful family.”
The driver of the pantech, a man, also died at the scene.
All three were yet to be formally identified by police at the time of print.
The driver of the fuel tanker, a man, was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Goondiwindi Hospital.
Toowoomba-based RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter airlifted the driver to Toowoomba hospital in a stable condition.
The man, in his early 30s, sustained multiple suspected head, limb and internal injuries after he was ejected from the truck.
Queensland Ambulance Service executive manager of operations Glen Maule said from what he had been told by first responders it was a huge scene and debris was spread over a large area of the highway.
“One would expect that police will have to do significant inquiries into what has occurred this morning to be able to piece together what has happened to cause such a tragedy to occur with three young people in their late teens and mid teens losing their lives,” he said.
The news sent shockwaves through the region, as friends, family and the show community paid tribute to the victims on social media.