Update for teen driver in fatal crash

A P-plater will be jailed over a horrific fatal crash that claimed the lives of five teenagers after he filmed himself reaching speeds of nearly 150 km/hr before colliding with a tree.

Tyrell Edwards appeared in Perth District Court via audiovisual link on Thursday after pleading guilty to five counts of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death at a speed more than 45km/hr over the limit.

The 19-year-old had been driving at 117 km/hr along a 60 km/hr rural road with five passengers illegally crammed into the car when he crashed into a tree on September 6, 2022.

His passengers Judah Anthony, 17, Summer Williams, 14, Gabriella McLennan, 15, Lily Van de Putte, 14, and Tyrese Bechard, 15, died at the scene.

Nearly a year on from the deadly crash, Edwards learned when he would be sentenced over the deadly collision.

Justice Tanya Smith told the court the 19-year-old would be sentenced on November 21.

He wore a green prison-issued tracksuit and a concerned expression as he heard he would have to wait three months to learn his fate.

The court previously heard it was accepted the Buxton resident would spend time behind bars, as each of the five charges carries a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Families and friends of the victims huddled together in the courtroom as the teen’s killer repeated his pleas of guilty.

Crown prosecutor Emma Sponza noted they expected “a large number of people” to be in attendance at Edwards’ sentencing, whom Judge Smith promised to accommodate.

The agreed facts reveal Edwards was driving his mother’s Nissan Navara along East Parade in Buxton shortly before 8pm when he lost control of the car and hit a tree.

The court previously heard the car only had seatbelts for four people, despite the six occupants.

The agreed facts reveal the 19-year-old collected Tyrese and Antonio in the afternoon and went for a joy ride around the area, reaching speeds of 124km/hr and 147km/hr.

The P-plater used his mobile phone to film himself swerving across the road as loud music blared in the background.

On the way to pick up Summer, he sent a Snapchat video in which he can be heard claiming: “We are going 160 the whole way. The whole way.”

Shortly before the collision, Edwards performed a U-turn and was doing 117 km/hr when lost control of the car.

The car veered onto the wrong side of the road and smashed into a tree before bouncing off into another tree.

The violent impact ripped the cabin apart and forcefully ejected Tyrese, Gabriella, Summer and Lily from the vehicle.

All four were found a short distance from the wreckage while Antonio was hanging upside down in the front passenger seat, trapped by his seatbelt.

Edwards sustained minor injuries and was the sole survivor of the horrific crash.

Nearby residents reported hearing a “massive explosion” and frantically called triple-0.

The P-plater driver was heard yelling “get me out of here, I can’t stay in here” while he was trapped in the cabin.

He managed to free himself by pushing out the windscreen and climbing out.

“I’m gonna go to jail, I can’t go to jail, I don’t want to go to jail,” the 19-year-old told witnesses at the scene.

He later told police the last thing he remembered was “just losing control” and ending up “in a tree”.

Edwards also bizarrely told them he had no idea how a fifth passenger got in his car and he thought he had only picked up two girls.

According to court records, the P-plater had twice had his licence suspended for speeding before the fatal crash.