The five children of a couple killed in a head-on crash in central western New South Wales are relying on public help to get them through the shock of losing their parents.
The four daughters and son of coach driver Graham Tait and his wife, Sue, headmistress of the kindergarten school, “did everything together as a family”, reports say.
The children (Bernadette, Jessica, Katherine, Alec and Felicity) do not have many other relatives to support them.
The Taits, both aged 57, died when their van collided with a van carrying two teenagers and a 23-year-old man on the Newell Highway, 35km south of Dubbo, at 9.20pm last Friday.
The fatal crash also claimed the lives of Lochie Jacobs, 18, and his childhood friend Joey Urban, 19, who were passengers in a Toyota HiLux that collided head-on with Tait’s van.
The 23-year-old driver of the ute, who suffered leg injuries, has since been charged with four counts of dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving, failing to wear a seat belt properly fastened and driving with the Passenger seat belts not fastened correctly.
Mrs Tait was deputy headteacher at Parkes Early Years Centre, where she taught for 17 years, and Graham Tait was a coach driver in the Parkes community.
Center director and family spokesperson Amii Marchant said the doting mother played a vital role in the lives of many children.
Sue and Graham Tait with their five children who were orphaned after their parents were killed in a head-on crash on the Newell Highway, near Dubbo, last Friday night.
“He was so important, like hundreds of children over the years that he has taught, that we will remember his beautiful, loud laugh,” Mrs Marchant said.
‘I actually had a soft spot for the two-year-olds’ room, the little boys. “You have to be a very, very special person to fully enjoy that room every day.”
Marchant said Tait was a “collector… of cars, books and car models, even gramophones.”
“He was just a fantastic father and husband.”
TO The Gofundme campaign has been launched. to help their five children, aged between 16 and 26.
“They don’t have much family to support them,” Mrs. Marchant said.
“The GoFundMe is to help them get through whatever they need over the next little while, so they don’t have to worry.”
A spokesperson for Parkes Early Childhood Center (PECC) added: ‘Sue was known to be a strong and consistent backbone of PECC and thoroughly enjoyed coming to work every day.
“Her husband Graham was a highly respected and experienced coach driver.”
The children’s center has remained open despite the tragedy.
Parkes Shire Council Deputy Mayor Marg Applebee shared a touching memory of the couple.
Parkes Early Childhood Center deputy director Sue Tait and her husband Graham (both pictured) also tragically died in the crash.
The Tait family: Coach Graham and kind head teacher Sue (above with her five children) did “everything together as a family.”
‘This was such heartbreaking news. I first met Sue when my men were little people. “It’s hard to believe I will never see his smiling, friendly face again,” she said.
‘Thank you Miss Sue and Graham for being part of the positive, trustworthy and encouraging framework of our community.
‘Love to your family, dear people. Our community embraces you all. “Parts of our community are gone, but they have not been forgotten.”
More than 100 locals shared memories of the Taits’ kindness at work and in the community on social media.
Former parents and students remembered “Miss Sue” as a woman who “always had a happy, welcoming smile.”
One neighbor recalled the years he spent visiting the Taits’ “happy home” for “a cup of tea and a chat.”
“A very empathetic and sensitive soul, Sue always had a smile and a positive attitude, something that endeared her to all PECC staff and families over the years,” another recalled.
“I will always be grateful for your encouragement in parenting, your guidance in helping my daughter grow with confidence, and your commitment to our community,” one grateful mother wrote.
He GoFundMe has now raised more than $35,000 to help support Tait’s children.
At the scene of the crash last Friday, paramedics desperately tried to revive teenagers Lochie Jacobs and Joey Urban, but they died at the scene.
Lochie Jacobs, 18, died in the car crash Friday night. He and his best friend tragically lost their lives.
Joey Urban, 19, also died in the crash, near Dubbo in central western New South Wales.
Tributes have poured in for young people, with loved ones mourning the loss of Lochie just two years after burying his father.
“Rest in peace Lochie, give your dad the biggest hug, he will be so proud of the young man you have become,” one loved one wrote.
‘Last night the world lost a beautiful young man. “Two years ago I attended your father’s funeral, but I never thought I’d have to go to your funeral, Lochie,” said another.
Some of the wreckage was left on the side of the road on Sunday, where the teens’ friends began laying flowers in honor of the best friends.
Mr. Urban’s sister remembered him as “the best brother a sister could ask for” and said she would “drink some Tooheys” on his behalf.
“I love you so much, you will be missed by many,” he wrote.
Another friend said they can “rest easy, beautiful boys.”
‘The world is so cruel sometimes! “Too young,” they wrote.
Mr Jacobs had run a farming business, Jacobs Rural Contracting, since April after finishing school at St Stanislaus’ Agricultural College in Bathurst.
His latest social media post on Wednesday urged his followers to donate to his friend’s mental health fundraiser.
Mr. Urban was known as “one of the funniest bastards” among his friends.
Lochie and his childhood best friend Joey Urban tragically died after the van they were traveling in collided head-on with a pickup truck on the Newell Highway on Friday night (pictured).
“My thoughts are with each and every family affected by this horror,” local MP Stephen Lawrence said on Sunday.
“I know the Parkes community will support their children.”
Lawrence described the crash as “appalling carnage” that claimed the lives of four people, bringing the death toll on New South Wales roads to 248 this year.
Investigators are looking into whether one of the drivers overtook a double-track highway train and entered a blind curve just before the accident.
Accident responders have reportedly been receiving counseling while wrecked vehicles have been seized as part of investigations.
The driver accused of the crash will appear at Dubbo Local Court on October 21.