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A 16-year-old boy has been killed after a car full of teenagers crashed into a tree near Port Stephens.
The driver was a 17-year-old learner, who police said failed a breath test at the scene.
Police said a white Ford Falcon sedan carrying four boys and one girl, aged between 14 and 17, veered off Lemon Tree Passage Road in Salt Ash about 10.45pm on Friday night.
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A 16-year-old boy, who was sitting in the back seat, suffered critical injuries and died on his way to the hospital.
The boy's father was spotting sitting along the stretch of roadside in the New South Wales Hunter region on Saturday, as he reeled from the loss of his son.
"It's always a confronting scene, especially a collision where five young people are in the car," Inspector Fatih Samsa said at a press conference today.
"The family has received some of the worst news they could possibly receive."
The 16-year-old's aunty, who did not wish to be named, said her nephew had a "cute cheeky little smile" with a "very warm and loving" personality.
"He loved his grandmother so much, couldn't go a day without telling her how much he loved her," she said.
"He loved his dad, he's just a great all around kid."
The other three passengers, a 14-year-old boy and two 17-year-olds, one of them a girl, were taken to John Hunter Hospital suffering minor injuries.
Police said the learner's licence driver of the sedan, a 17-year-old boy, was given a roadside breath test, which allegedly returned a positive reading.
He was taken to hospital for further mandatory testing.
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A crime scene has been established at the crash site and an investigation has begun.
Police are investigating whether speed was a factor in the crash.
Samsa pleaded for young drivers across the community to take care behind the wheel.
"Being the start of the school holidays, we're obviously going to have more road users on the roads, especially novice young drivers," he said.
"Even one death on our roads is one death too many."
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