EXCLUSIVE
Model Savana Calvo was left “unrecognizable” after suffering serious injuries in a horror car crash months before she was found dead in the bathroom of a Sydney brewery.
Calvo, 27, was a passenger in a car driven by her ex-boyfriend, record store owner Lorenz Prichard, when another vehicle ran a red light and crashed into him.
The other car crashed into the couple’s van, causing it to lose control before going over a curb and crashing into the corner of a brick wall in February last year.
Savana suffered “serious injuries,” as did her boyfriend and a pedestrian, Prichard said in an Instagram post at the time.
The images revealed the twisted remains of the crash, which Prichard said was an urgent wake-up call to appreciate every moment.
‘Life is precious and fleeting. Everything could disappear in a second, so don’t waste your time and energy,’ he said at the time.
‘Tell your family you love them! Live life to the fullest, be confident and kind to others. Don’t take anything for granted.’
But in the wake of the accident, friends told Daily Mail Australia that Calvo, 27, ended up walking with a cane, visibly gained weight and stopped posting photos of himself on social media.
Savana Calvo was a much-loved member of Sydney’s inner west community.
The car in which Savana Calvo was traveling crashed into the corner of a brick wall
Another vehicle had caused him to lose control after hitting him at an intersection, Prichard said.
“I saw her after the accident and she seemed very different,” says a friend. “I think he had a spinal cord injury, hence the weight gain.”
Calvo, 27, was found dead at around 11.30pm last Wednesday at the Young Henrys brewery in Newtown, more than four hours after it was understood the pub had closed.
Police say his death is not being treated as suspicious, but an investigation into the circumstances leading up to it continues.
Savana’s devastated family is now on a desperate mission searching for answers about what happened to their daughter that tragic night.
Calvo’s parents, Daniel and Tatjana, told Daily Mail Australia the family had been “crushed” by the tragedy and were struggling to understand why their “beautiful girl” took her own life.
‘There were signs. They had a lot going on behind the scenes. But it is too early to say what exactly led to his death,” Calvo said.
‘(The police investigation) is becoming very far-reaching now, but I can’t speak more about it at the moment.
“But I think Savana is at peace now.”
Close family friend Adam St John-Foti has set up a GoFundMe page to help ease the family’s financial worries as they come to terms with what happened to their beloved Savana.
Savana had apparently disappeared from social media since the accident.
Savana’s brother James, father Daniel and family friend St John-Foti paid loving tribute to Daily Mail Australia.
So far, more than $30,000 has been raised to cover funeral costs and allow the family to grieve without worrying about returning to work.
“Savana was a legend of the Western hinterland, a wise and much-loved old soul,” St John-Foti said.
“She helped everyone and there is a lot to celebrate about her life.”
Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.
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