A teenager tragically killed in a horrific highway crash while on a family road trip to see Taylor Swift in concert has been identified.
Mieka Pokarier, 16, died when the SUV she was travelling in with her mother and sister collided with a semi-trailer near Dubbo as they drove to Melbourne from the Gold Coast.
The crash on Dunedoo Road at Ballimore on Thursday about 6pm also left Mieka’s younger sister Freya Pokarier, 10, in a critical condition. She was airlifted to Westmead Hospital.
Mieka was understood to have been sitting in the front passenger seat when the crash occurred.
Emergency services rushed to the scene but the teenager could not be saved.
On Saturday, Mieka and Freya’s father, Peter Pokarier, shared his grief on Facebook.
‘That’s my baby that died,’ he wrote.
The driver of the semi-trailer had minor injuries and was taken to Dubbo Hospital in a stable condition.
The mother of the two girls, Kim Litchfield, who was driving the SUV, sustained several injuries and was also taken to Dubbo Hospital.
Godmother to the sisters, Karleigh Fox, said the younger girl was fighting for life in a coma with brain injuries, a broken pelvis and a broken leg.
She said the two girls had been looking forward to attending the 14-time Grammy Award winner’s concert.
‘This was supposed to be a road-trip of a lifetime with them going to concerts in both Melbourne and Sydney,’ she told the Courier Mail.
The Gold Coast-based family were heading down to Melbourne ahead of Swift’s sold-out concert at the MCG.
The pop superstar kicked off the Australian leg of her Eras tour in Melbourne on Friday night with around 96,000 fans in attendance.
Images from the scene in the aftermath of the crash show plumes of thick, black smoke rising into the sky.
A GoFundMe page was set up on Friday to raise money for the shattered family.
‘The family have all had to cease work to fly down and I’m trying to get a flight to support the mum as she’s alone in Dubbo until we can get her to Sydney,’ Ms Fox said.
‘Funds will be used to function in this challenging time.’
Mr Pokarier, the girl’s father, also shared a link to the Go FundMe.
He said his family is ‘what I live for, I’m devastated’.
Tributes have also flowed from friends on social media.
Cheyenne Craig said Mieka was learning to drive.
‘How is it fair that someone as sweet and beautiful as you was taken away from us so soon?,’ she wrote to social media.
‘Mieka was the sweetest, most down to earth person you could’ve ever had the privilege of knowing, her stupid jokes that always made no sense but somehow always made you laugh… and the way we would spend the entire day talking about concerts.’
Both sisters had been part of the Gold Coast Youth Theatre Academy.
Simone Medland also said Mieka was passionate about music and concerts.
‘I was so happy to see you happy living your life and going to concerts. You deserved to be happy and there are so many people that care about you.,’ she said.
‘I wouldn’t trade these last few years I had with you for the world and I wish I could just see you once more. We had so many plans of things we needed to do together and it’ll always be my biggest regret that we never got the chance to.’
NSW Police said in a statement that a crime scene was set up as officers continue to investigate the incident.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
