A young Parkes woman tragically lost her life in an horrific car accident on Wednesday afternoon.
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Louise Cole, 19, was a passenger in the rear left hand side of a vehicle which left the road and hit a tree.
She died at the scene.
Three of the four occupants of the vehicle were aged 19, the other 21.
Emergency services were called to the scene, two kilometres east of the Cooka Hills Road, at 5.10pm.
The Mazda sedan was travelling west towards Parkes on the Henry Parkes Way when the driver appears to have lost control while overtaking a number of vehicles.
Police allege the car slid sideways for a distance before it left the road on the south side and hit a small embankment which spun the vehicle around.
They said initial investigations indicate the car then continued to travel backwards before the rear left side corner smashed heavily into a large tree.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the driver and the other passengers for a variety of injuries at the scene.
The three injured women were transported to Orange Hospital, one by air and two by road.
They sustained minor injuries and were kept overnight, with one transferred back to Parkes Hospital on Wednesday night.
Police from Lachlan Local Area Command, the Metropolitan Crash Investigation Unit, the State Emergency Service and the Rural Fire Service all attended the scene.
The Police Crash Investigation Unit is in charge of the investigation and will work with local police.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner outlining the full circumstances surrounding the death of the 19-year-old.
Lachlan Local Area Commander Superintendent Chris Taylor said the accident is devastating for all involved.
“There is so much publicity and so much education around teaching young drivers,” he said.
“The accident is eerily similar to the mock crash held every year for Year 10 students throughout this command.
“We want parents to sit down with their teens and young adults who are driving and talk about road safety.
“Not lecture them, but talk about it in a constructive way.
“It’s about parents engaging with their young adult and teen drivers and talking with them about it so it might remain in their minds.
“We want them to talk about safe driving practices, driving to conditions and how easy it is to lose your life which causes devastation to the families left behind.”