JESSICA Falkholt, 29, has died following a horrific Boxing Day crash that killed three members of her family.

A spokeswoman for St George Hospital confirmed on behalf of her family that Jessica passed away at 10.20am today.

“Jessica passed away from serious injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on 26 December,” a statement released Wednesday morning read.

The Home and Away actress’s life support was switched off on 11 January after several operations but she remained in a critical condition for five days.

Jessica was pulled from the wreckage of the Boxing Day crash near Ulladulla with her sister Annabelle, 21, who died in hospital three days later. Their parents, Lars, 69, and Vivian, 61, were killed at the scene.

The driver of the 4WD that slammed into the family’s car, serial traffic offender Craig Whitall also died.

Confirming Jessica’s death, a statement from NSW Police said officers from the crash investigation unit were continuing investigations into the incident following Jessica’s death.

Jessica had undergone several surgeries following the crash, including the removal of a kidney and part of her skull, but remained in a coma and had been in intensive care.

Her death comes a week after a funeral was held for Jessica’s sister and parents.

Hundreds of people turned out to farewell Lars, Vivian and Annabelle in an emotional ceremony in Sydney’s west.

At the funeral, Vivian’s younger brother Paul Ponticello — Jessica’s uncle — thanked members of the public who ran to help pull the sisters from the car.

“(It’s) a day that will be difficult to erase from our memory,” he told the service, adding the tragic irony was that Lars was renowned for being a careful driver.

“Whenever asking how long it would take to drive somewhere I would suggest an average for a normal driver and then add some additional time for the Lars factor. We always had a good laugh.”

A RISING STAR

Born in May 1988, Jessica was raised, along with her sister in Sydney by their Swedish father and Italian mother.

Jessica nurtured her love of acting while completing a Bachelor of Arts in media and Communication at the University of NSW, where she starred in several theatrical society productions including the musical Cabaret.

After graduating, she found production jobs at the Seven Network and Carnival Films and began building a portfolio of acting work thanks to TV commercials. In 2012 she won a place at the prestigious acting school NIDA, where she spent three years honing her craft.

Shortly after being accepted at NIDA, Ms Falkholt had her first breaks on TV with bit parts in the Nine Network dramas Tricky Business and Underbelly: Badness.

Following her graduation from acting school, Summer Bay beckoned, with the young actress scoring a role on Home and Away as Hope Morrison for 16 episodes in 2016.

Hope, who lived with Pia Miller’s character policewoman Kat Chapman, caused quite a stir among the locals before making a dramatic exit by being taken off to prison.

A co-starring role in the short film Green River: Part One followed in 2017, with the Australian actress playing Diana in the drama about 30 women who went missing from a small town in America in the mid 1980s.

Then came her big screen break in the supernatural thriller Harmony, starring alongside fellow Australian actors Jacqueline McKenzie and Eamon Farren.

In the film, which is scheduled for release in 2018, she plays a woman named Harmony who has the power to absorb fear from others but is on a quest to find love.

OUTPOURING OF GRIEF FOR ‘DEDICATED, PASSIONATE’ ACTRESS

The accident, which has now claimed the lives of the entire Falkholt family, prompted an outpouring of grief from the entertainment industry and Jessica's fans.

Thousands left emotional tributes to the promising actress on the Home and Away Facebook page following the “devastating news” her life support had been switched off last Friday.

A casting director who worked with Jessica on her last film shared his memory of the pair’s final moments together.

“So hard to concentrate today, this screenshot is from just eight weeks ago, where I had the pleasure of another audition with the gorgeous Jessica Falkholt,” he wrote.

“So smart, talented, dedicated, passionate, intense (in all the right ways), inquisitive, questioning, hard on herself — she always thought she could do it better. When she really looked at you — with those wonderful, beautiful eyes — you knew you were in front of a powerful, creative life force. So much potential, just starting to kick the goals she had worked so hard for.............Thank you Jess. Please send all your love and support to her.”

DRIVER WAS A SERIAL OFFENDER

The driver of the 4WD that slammed into the family’s car was also killed in the accident. Craig Whitall, 50, was a habitual traffic offender and was reportedly travelling home from a Nowra methadone clinic when the accident occurred.

Whitall had more than 60 convictions to his name and had been caught some 10 times driving while disqualified.

A former NSW Police officer who served in the Nowra region between 1996 and 2004 last week said he wasn’t surprised when he learnt the serial offender was behind the wheel of the vehicle that slammed into the Falkholt’s car.

“He was a repeat offender. He didn’t care about law. How he got his licence back I will never know. It astounded me that he was out on the road,” the former officer, known only as Andrew told 2GB.

He went on to say Whitall was a “menace to society” and “should have been in jail”.

The state government said there will be a thorough investigation into what caused the accident. Officers from the NSW Police crash investigation unit are continuing their investigations into the incident.

NSW drivers are also expected to be subject to more roadside drug tests by 2020 with increased penalties for drug drivers.

— With AAP