The two men killed in a horror five-car crash on a busy highway have both been identified as loving Sydney dads as more harrowing details are revealed.
David Drozd, 42, and Jason McMahon, also 42, were killed in the horror multi-car crash on the Great Western Highway west of the Blue Mountains on Friday.
Mr Drozd is remembered as a respected traffic engineer who wrote a report for the Blue Mountains Council seven years ago about the dangers on the same road on which he died.
He was heading to Dubbo with his wife, 41, and four children aged between five and 15, when tragedy struck.
His wife and children were among the 15 injured and hospitalized.
Mr Drozd previously worked for Penrith Council before setting up his own traffic consultancy firm in 2012.
David Drozd (pictured) was traveling to Dubbo with his wife and four children when disaster struck
Jason McMahon (above) was previously identified as the first victim of the five-car pile-up near Lithgow on Friday
Earlier on Saturday, it was revealed that McMahon, 42, was also a doting father who was about to marry the love of his life
His son Connor, 19, paid a heartbreaking tribute on Saturday evening.
'I've lost the man. I've always wanted to be that. He was the kind of person who would drop everything to go and help someone,” he told Nine News in a statement.
“I'm going to miss my dad every minute he didn't see me start.”
a GoFundMe The crowdfunding page for his McMahon fiance and children was created late Friday night.
“Sadly, the McMahon family has lost a great role model in their lives,” it read.
“His family has lost a son, a father, a fiancée and more.
“The whole purpose of this GoFundMe is to help his fiancée and the rest of his family, to raise money to pay for any funeral expenses.”
Mr McMahon had reportedly been racing at nearby Sunny Corner with family friend Declan Jones, who was also injured in the crash. They were on their way home to Sydney's west.
Police said Friday's holiday traffic jam on the Great Western Highway at Wallerawang, about 15km north of Lithgow, appeared to have occurred when a car crossed onto the wrong side of the road.
Investigators said on Saturday morning that Mr McMahon's eastbound Isuzu D-Max, towing a motorcycle trailer, collided with a westbound Toyota Hilux.
That Toyota then hit a Hyundai Tuscan, causing it to be thrown off the highway and the occupants trapped.
In the chaos, the Isuzu then struck a Kia Carnival head-on. A Nissan Patrol, towing a caravan, then collided with the Isuzu's trailer.
Mr McMahon and the 49-year-old male Kia driver, who has yet to be named, were both trapped and died at the scene.
The Kia's six passengers – including five children and a 41-year-old woman – were all injured.
The horror crash injured at least 15 people and killed two drivers, Mr McMahon and the 49-year-old male Kia driver (photo, emergency services on scene)
A nine-year-old girl is in a critical but stable condition in hospital, while the other four are stable and the adult has been released from hospital.
Many of the people involved in the fatal accident were traveling or returning from holidays for the Christmas/New Year period.
Images from the scene showed more than a dozen ambulance vehicles, with paramedics and SES officers assisting the injured.
Several vehicles were crumpled wrecks with debris scattered across the 70 mph stretch of highway, including suitcases, pillows and dirt bikes.
The Great Western Highway has now reopened.
NSW Police Inspector Paul Glinn said: “It appears a vehicle crossed the wrong side of the road.”
Mr McMahon had reportedly been cross-country skiing at nearby Sunny Corner with family friend Declan Jones (above)
Firefighters arrived at 'a confronting scene of carnage'.
“Crews with the assistance of ambulances and volunteer associations had to make crucial decisions when assessing patients,” NSW Fire and Rescue Chief Phil Vaiciurgis said.
'We had to carry out two complex rescues of serious crush injuries, provide fire protection and assist police and ambulance to make the accident scene safe.'
Friday's tragedy takes the road death toll in NSW to 352 in 2023 – 82 more than last year.
The tragedy has rocked the region west of the Blue Mountains.
Fire and Rescue NSW service commander Phil Vaiciurgis described the crash as 'a confronting scene of carnage' (pictured, paramedics with one of the injured)
“It is shocking news and everyone sends their condolences to the families and loved ones involved in this serious accident,” Bathurst MP Paul Toole said. ABC news.
'It has a far-reaching effect in our local communities.
“I know the police have not identified those involved in the incident, but we know it will cause a lot of grief and loss.”
Detectives are calling on anyone with information or dashcam footage to contact the police.
