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Two Sydney fathers have been identified as the victims of a horror crash in the NSW Central Tablelands, as a number of children remain in a serious condition in hospital.
David Drozd, wife Nicole and five of his nine children were on the way to Dubbo to visit their eldest daughter when the family's Kia Carnival collided head-on with a D-Max ute towing a dirt bike trailer on the Great Western Highway near Wallerawang.
The 49-year-old father was killed along with the driver of the D-Max, 43-year-old Jason McMahon from Narellan Vale.
Before the crash, McMahon had spent the day riding trail bikes at Sunny Corner.
"Our hearts go out to the families and the communities that those people are part of," Transport for NSW Centre for Road Safety chief Bernard Carlon said.
McMahon's 19-year-old son, Connor, told 9News he lost the man he always wanted to become.
"He was the sort of person to just drop everything to go help someone," he said.
"I'm going to miss my dad every minute.
"He didn't get to see me start a family of my own."
Five vehicles were involved in the crash and 15 people were injured, including McMahon's 19-year-old passenger and family friend, Declan Jones.
Today, five children remained in hospital in Westmead, including two of Drozd's daughters, who are in a serious and critical condition.
"We're calling on the community to, particularly in this new year's period, to stop and think about what they do to prepare on their journey," Carlon said.
The stretch of highway on Mount Lambie is notorious for accidents.
A crash involving a truck and a sedan killed two people in 2021, while another man lost his life after his ute was hit by a truck in 2018.
Police are probing a number of theories as to why McMahon's ute crossed onto the wrong side of the road, including speed, a medical episode or potentially a microsleep after a long day of riding.
Drozd was an experienced traffic safety consultant who worked throughout Western Sydney.
He was due to become a grandfather next year.
His family described him as a devoted Christian and a loving father of nine children.
