REMEMBER WHEN

THE youth behind the wheel of a car that crashed early on the previous Sunday, killing four Lismore teenagers, underwent surgery while police tried to determine the cause of the accident and calls grew for tougher restrictions on P-plate drivers.

Tyler Green, 17, who was driving his father’s Holden Commodore, was in a stable condition in a Queensland hospital after doctors operated on serious cuts to an arm.

Senior police were baffled as to the cause of the accident, which occurred on The Coast Road, at Broken Head, but hoped to speak to the driver before the end of that week.

“There were no witnesses who actually saw the collision occur,” said Inspector Owen King of Byron Bay.

“Until such time we interview (the driver) we really cannot say what was the actual cause of the accident.”

Ann New, whose 16-year-old son, Corey, was killed in the crash, said the community needed to support the driver, but called for changes to P-plate laws.

“We need to support the driver. His heart will be as heavy as ours,” she said.

She supported calls for tougher restrictions.

“Always, after the fact, it’s more important to you, when you hear this discussion, but a tragedy on this scale just wouldn’t happen if these restrictions were in force.

“You don’t want one child to die let alone four, but if there was one passenger per P-plater this immense tragedy would not be affecting so many.’’

Insp King said young drivers were a concern for police.