TWO women have defended taking selfies in hospital after being in a crash in which their pal died playing chicken with on-coming cars as they filmed her.

Shania McNeill, 21, from Queensland, Australia, was killed seconds after she was seen in a Snapchat video singing and posing behind the wheel, while she travelled in the wrong direction.

14 Shania McNeill was filmed seconds before she was involved in a fatal head-on-collision Credit: Snapchat

14 Hazel Wildman, left, posted this selfie on Snapchat with Faeda Hunter in the background Credit: Snapchat

Faeda Hunter, 20, and another pal Hazel Wildman, 23, managed to free themselves from the vehicle and were taken to hospital after the 1.15am smash but their friend died.

Ms Wildman made headlines when she took a selfie with Ms Hunter after the accident.

Now, speaking on the Sunday Night show they have defended taking the selfie, saying they believed their friend wasn’t in a life threatening condition.

“When the selfie was posted, we were not aware of the condition of Shania,” said Ms Hunter.

“Messages were already coming through on my phone. People wanted to know what was going on, so I just put it out there to say, ‘We’re okay’.

“We thought Shania was fine. I even sent it to her Snapchat, as a personal message. She never opened it though.”

Ms Wildman added: “She just looked like she was sleeping, and happy sleeping. She looked beautiful on the outside.

“She had two scratches on her — that’s all. She looked fine. That’s why I thought she was okay.”

According to Ms McNeill’s friends, the trio began their night together at Ms Wildman’s house.

They were in good spirits and posted various videos to Snapchat of themselves laughing and having fun.

At the last minute, they decided to go out to a club and left around 12.30am .

Ms Hunter admitted the girls had all had a few drinks before they got in the car and toxicology report said alcohol, MDMA and cannabis was found in Ms McNeill’s body.

14 Faeda Hunter, left, and Hazel Wildman have spoken about the selfie Credit: Sunday Night

14 Shania can be seen singing in the video filmed by friend Faeda Hunter, and posted Snapchat

14 Shania was pronounced dead at the scene in Queensland on Sunday

14 Shania had to be freed from her car on Sunday after the head-on collision in Queensland, and was pronounced dead at the scene

In the video a passenger can be heard screaming, "Shania!", in an apparent bid to get her to slow down.

Footage shows her appearing scared, as her friend Ms Hunter, who was filming, drops the phone and the video cuts out.

“We just thought it was going to be a fun night. But things changed very quickly and drastically,” said Ms Hunter.

“Sometimes I’m not fully aware of what I’m filming or where the camera’s pointing. I was filming her. We were encouraging her for a while … just having fun. Then it started to get scary.”

But the girls denied knowing what the game of “chicken” was.

When asked if that’s what they were doing, Ms Hunter replied: “I guess you could call it that.

“I don’t know where that name came from, but I believe that’s what she doing, the act of driving on the incorrect side of the road and, yeah … unfortunately this one time went too far.”

The pair’s TV appearance has also been slammed by Shania’s grieving father Lee McNeill.

He told the Sunday Telegraph that he had been approached by two TV networks but didn’t believe anyone should make money from the tragedy.

“I’ve got a box of ashes in my garage. It makes me sick to involve money,” he said.

14 This Snapchat video of Shania McNeill seconds before her death has prompted a strong warning from police

14 Headlights from an incoming car can be seen as Shania's car revs loudly Credit: Snapchat

14 Faeda Hunter filmed the video and uploaded it onto Snapchat seconds before the smash

14 Shania's friend Hazel Wildman sat in the back seat of the car, and survived the crash

14 Shania's former boyfriend Joel Bentley has slammed the girls for sharing a picture in hospital

14 Shania filmed having fun with friends before the fatal accident

14 The 21-year-old had been enjoying time with pals, who appeared to film and share their antics on Snapchat Credit: Snapchat

14 Shania's pals have set up a fundraising page to help her family with funeral costs Credit: GoFundMe

Pals of driver, 21, killed filming Snapchat video 'playing chicken' with oncoming traffic defend posting grinning hospital selfie

A version of this story appeared in news.com.au.

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