by Yvette Brand
A car crashed into a tree, a young life gone. It is a confronting scene that occurs too often on rural roads.
Local paramedic Jessica Newton doesn't need to be reminded of the horror circumstances that killed her best friend. After 15 years, the pain never dulls.
But, Jessica hopes by sharing her story and a powerful road safety message with young people, she may help to save a life.
The fatal collision was a single vehicle crash into a tree at Willow Grove in 2010.
"He wasn't necessarily doing the wrong thing but he was fatigued. He fell asleep while driving home after being in Melbourne. There were Red Bull cans in the car and he hit a tree at 80 to 100 kilometres an hour."

They had grown up together and were just 19-years-old when his fatal accident changed so many lives.
"He was vibrant, young, a good hearted personality and was at the centre of his community. He was such a wonderful, wonderful, big-hearted person.
"His death tore the community apart. It's not just immediate family that's affected...it was tragic for the whole community.
"Accidents like this destroy whole communities...it was a devastating loss and it impacted the community massively."
Jessica is now committed to spreading road safety messages. She has been involved in RoadSafe Gippsland television campaigns and a program in conjunction with Latrobe Regional Hospital providing secondary students with mock road and alcohol trauma scenarios.
When Jessica joins with police to speak to students, she aims to have an emotional impact.
It is easy to present crash photographs and statistics that have no meaning. But Jessica's story is real, students are left numb and sit silent, listening to her emotional pleas for road safety.
Road safety is about being aware, Jessica said, not just the big campaigns reminding drivers about the dangers of speeding or drink driving.
As a paramedic, Jessica never loses sight of the "little mistakes" that end tragically and "life is knocked out of them so quickly."
"This wasn't about young people stealing cars and driving like idiots.
"It can be a lapse of concentration. Young people don't think that will happen, they think they're invincible. But I can say this happened to me, it's not just another statistic.
"Anyone can make such a simple, innocent mistake. It's not always the big things like speeding or drink driving. Sometimes it can be the innocent things like distraction, fatigue or not driving to the conditions that cause these traumas.
"It is so easy for everything to be lost in an instant," she said.
Jessica said road safety messages were not just a warning of the impact of fatalities but serious injury collisions when a victim may not return to normal functions and lose independence.
"It's not just a couple of weeks in hospital, it can be life changing."
Jessica said it was important for young drivers to understand the huge number of people who felt the loss of one person dying, the multiplying affect that had on a community and "the ones left behind who are hurting."
She tells students to think of their parents still suffering on another birthday without their son or daughter 10 years later - because their loss never gets any easier.
While it is a tough message to deliver, and one that Jessica still gets teary talking about, she said the personal loss had more impact on people.
But, she turns her thoughts to her best friend - "he was sunshine in the form of a friend."
"If talking about his death prevents someone leaving (loved ones) like him, that's why I do it," Jessica said.
Jessica speaks at
Blues junior club
When Warragul Blues Junior Football club hosts its Road Safety Round on Sunday, Jessica will be one of the speakers driving home safety messages.
The junior club is a big supporter of Road Safety Round, seeing it as an opportunity to empower young players to develop a culture where all players and families consider road safety before getting behind the wheel.
All players will wear blue armbands in honour of those impacted by road crash trauma and as a commitment to safer journeys for everyone.
To start the conversation and raise awareness about the dangers of speeding, Jessica will join local police in talking about road safety.
"We are taking the lead to slow down, and show up safely for each other both on and off the field," club spokesperson Melissa Hatfield said.