The driver behind a triple-fatality car crash that claimed the lives of his girlfriend and two mates pleaded guilty to hooning earlier this year and was on a good behaviour bond at the time of the incident.
Lachlan Stuckey, 21, was driving through Tarago, about 40km south of Goulburn in the NSW Southern Highlands, about 1.10pm on Sunday when the vehicle left the road and rolled.
His girlfriend Charlie Quinn, 18, friend Aaron French, 20, and Mr French’s girlfriend Brooke Sorlie, 21, all suffered critical injuries and died at the scene.
Mr Stuckey escaped with minor injuries was able to get out of the vehicle unassisted. He was taken to Canberra Hospital for treatment and mandatory blood tests and remains there under police guard.
Now, Daily Mail Australia can reveal Stuckey pleaded guilty to a hooning offence – prolong, sustain etc loss of traction – on January 9 in Nowra Local Court.
While no conviction was recorded, he was sentenced to a 12-month Conditional Release Order – which is in place until January 8, 2025.
No charges have been laid over the fatal crash and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Stuckey was acting unlawfully at the time of the accident.
Mr Stuckey, a car enthusiast, frequently posts videos of himself hooning on social media – performing burnouts and fishtailing his vehicle.
Pictured: Charlie Quinn, 18, and Lachlan Stuckey, 21
Pictured: Brooke Sorlie, 21, and Aaron French
In one post, featuring a clip of a man behind the wheel of a car, he wrote: ‘When driving with the homies increases your chances of going to jail by 150%.’
In another video, which shows a car’s tyre sparking as the it tears down a road, the caption reads: ‘I swear officer I hit a pothole and got two flat tyres.’
Daily Mail Australia can also reveal that Mr Stuckey was embroiled in another car-related court matter in 2022 – after he and his father retaliated against a man who attacked them with a baseball bat.
According to police facts presented in court, the victim had become enraged over the sound of Mr Stuckey’s car exhaust and aggressively approached him at his car.
An argument erupted, with the victim eventually leaving in his car to head home.
Mr Stuckey, however, followed him in his vehicle and called his father, who met his son at the victim’s address.
A fight then unfolded between the three – with the victim grabbing a baseball bat and using it against Mr Stuckey.
Mr Stuckey managed to grab the baseball bat and smashed the victim’s car windows before he and his father left the scene.
Lachlan Stuckey and father Shane Stuckey pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful entry, offensive behaviour, property damage, and assault over the matter.
Lachlan Stuckey (pictured), the driver, was the sole survivor of the crash
His girlfriend Charlie Quinn, 18, has been remembered as a ‘beautiful girl’
No conviction was recorded for either and the 21-year-old was placed on a 12-month conditional release order.
Tributes have begun to pour in for the three crash victims, who are all from the Shoalhaven region of the NSW south coast.
One friend described Ms Quinn as an ‘amazing friend’.
‘She always had time for anyone, always kind and positive was loved by everyone and had a contagious smile,’ they told Daily Mail Australia.
Another friend said she would be ‘gone but never forgotten’.
‘You will be [missed] by so many Char,’ they said.
‘Rest easy girl. The love I have for you will never end.’
One of Ms Sorlie’s friends said she ‘always had a smile that would light up anyone’s day’.
‘I will always cherish my memories with you gorgeous girl,’ she said.
‘Love you Brookie chookie.’
Another friend of Ms Sorlie’s wrote online: ‘Fly high gorgeous angel.
‘Looking at the sky for you.’
According to posts on social media, Ms Quinn left Bomaderry High School around June last year and was pursuing further studies through TAFE.
Ms Sorlie, an avid equestrian, graduated from St John the Evangelist Catholic High School in Nowra several years ago.
Pictures posted online show the girls enjoying holidays with their boyfriends, attending music festivals, and hanging out with friends.
One photo posted in December 2021 shows Ms Quinn standing next to her father, beaming as she holds up a newly-earned Learner plate.
‘Congratulations young lady,’ a family friend commented.
‘The world is yours now but tread lightly.’
Daily Mail Australia understands the group were travelling back home to the Shoalhaven region at the time of the crash.
A woman who was one of the first responders at the scene said she and other bystanders worked desperately to save the lives of Ms Sorlie and Mr French while waiting for emergency services to arrive.
‘They were unconscious. We were giving them CPR but it just wouldn’t work. It was awful,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
The girls were killed alongside a male passenger when the vehicle veered off the road and rolled at Tarago
‘One girl was still trapped in the car – the driver’s girlfriend. I can still hear hear his screams.
‘He was screaming to try and get in the car to get his girlfriend out.’
Special crash investigators are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident, including whether speed was a factor.
The tragedy has sparked outrage online as locals slam the condition of the road, which is frequented by freight trucks.
‘One of the worst roads I’ve driven on. Patched potholes everywhere. It’s been shocking for years,’ one person said.
Another added: ‘The roads are a disgrace. I drive on them a lot and it is not fair that the roads are in this condition.’
One woman claimed there was a slab of concrete laying on the road near the crash scene, presenting a possible obstacle for drivers.
‘My family members were first on scene and there was a massive piece of square concrete on the road that appeared to have possibly caused the crash,’ she wrote online.
However, another first responder told Daily Mail Australia they did not recall seeing the object on the road.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
