The mangled remains of Steven Johnstone's (inset left) Ford Falcon. Among the five people also killed were Anthony Iannetta, Mathew Lister and Ben Hall. Credit:Pat Scala (main photo) According to his girlfriend, Johnstone sped off in anger. Some gatecrashers ran after him while others piled into another car and drove off in pursuit, she said. The apprentice roof tiler was in the car with Will - who friends say wanted to be a rapper and loved the late US artist Tupac - and mates Mathew Lister, 17, Ben Hall, 19, and Anthony Iannetta, 18, and his sister, Elissa, 15, the only survivor. Police Deputy Commissioner Ken Lay said Johnstone, 19, had been seen driving at 150km/h through Ivanhoe with a passenger hanging out the window. ''The driver was a P-plater, we believe, he had a prior conviction for a high speed in the past year - he should not have had passengers in the car,'' Mr Lay said.

Distraught friends and family gather at the scene of yesterday’s single-vehicle crash in Mill Park, which left five teenagers dead and injured a girl. Credit:Paul Rovere ''This was an absolute tragedy waiting to happen.'' Tony Chahine and his distraught wife thought the same thing as the Ford passed them ''like a rocket'' near Hungry Jack's on Plenty Road just before 2am. ''I'm shivering as I knew these boys were going to a death trap but we could do nothing,'' said a tearful Mrs Chahine, who did not want her first name used. ''We felt the wind of the car. I'm so sad for these young people. I feel sorry for the parents.'' Shortly after the car hurtled through the intersection of Childs Road and Plenty Road at Mill Park, the driver lost control and slid off the road into a large oak tree, the impact splitting the metre-wide trunk in half. After hearing what sounded like a huge explosion, Sam Dunn and Adam Memery looked over their back fence to a scene of carnage. ''There was no noise - that was the scariest part,'' said Mr Dunn. ''There was no scream. It was a mess - there was nothing you could do.'' Another neighbour, Ang Cannon, said: ''We get a lot of them racing along here on Friday and Saturday nights as it's such a straight road - it's not the first time there's been an accident.'' .

The three ferried buckets of water to motorists who had stopped to help to put out a fire in the remains of the engine. Other drivers were still hooning past the scene with some stopping to film it on their mobile phones, Ms Dunn said. After the fire was out, they could only see the hand and head of the girl in the back and could not tell how many had perished. Veteran paramedic Ron McLeod said even seasoned emergency workers were traumatised by the accident. ''I've been a paramedic for 30 years and and this is the most horrific scene I've ever seen,'' he said. It took 90 minutes to free Elissa Iannetta from the wreckage where she was trapped under the bodies of her brother and his mates. At Royal Melbourne Hospital, where Elissa was last night in a serious but stable condition, her mother Rose said Elissa's last memory of her brother was of him trying to shield her.

''He grabbed her and threw her in between his lap to protect her because he could feel it coming,'' she said. By 10am yesterday, police had removed the car wreckage, and the broken remains of the oak tree had been mulched and carted away. All that was left was a gaping hole where the tree had been and debris from the car and its occupants' young lives. Playing cards were scattered, along with smashed CDs including a copied version of Michael Jackson's Dangerous, a pink make-up case, a doll, a white headband, a P-plate and a crumpled box that had once held pre-mixed vodka drinks. When the first grieving friends began to arrive after 11am, they stared at the scene in disbelief and tried to ignore the blood stains.

A nearby tree became a memorial after Taryn, 16, laid the first flowers for her friend, Anthony, known as ''Jockey'' for his small stature. ''He was like my family, my brother,'' she said. ''He was one of the best people you'd ever meet. He just liked partying.'' The stepmother of Steven Johnstone, Jacqueline Johnstone, arrived with his stepbrother, Scott, 9, to comfort his young friends. Still in shock, she said he had visited her only hours before the accident. ''He was a loving boy who had been through a lot of problems,'' she said. He had lost his father to cancer three years ago. Gemma Walters was upset and angry that her friends' lives had been cut short.

''I think it's not fair that they lost their lives at such a young age,'' she said between sobs. ''Anthony was just one of the best people I've ever met and a beautiful person and he didn't deserve to die.'' She said ''Jockey'' was part of a large group of close-knit friends. ''This should show everyone in our whole group that they shouldn't be driving that fast, that's stupid to do that,'' she said. ''Drugs, alcohol and people trying to be heroes.'' Last night, teenagers kept a candlelight vigil at the site. About 20 people gathered around a tree covered with flowers and messages of condolence.



The crash came just weeks before Mathew Lister was due to celebrate his 18th birthday with his twin brother on February 5. He liked to work on cars and motorbikes, which he enjoyed riding. ''Mathew was always caring towards his family and close mates,'' his family said in a statement. ''I hope this tragic accident is a warning that it can happen to you, no matter who you are.'' By mid-afternoon, the crowd of mourners numbered 150 and tempers began to fray with some young men threatening television cameramen. The group formed a circle around the makeshift memorial on an oak tree and hugged and cried.

A man handed around bourbon drinks while others pulled out spray cans and scrawled their grief on the footpath and tree stump. On Facebook, the social networking website, hundreds of friends yesterday reflected on the young lives lost. Loading A friend of Mathew's, known as Bryce ''Ricardo'' Meeks, summed up the sentiment: ''5 minutes of facebook silence for the 5 boiz we lost at 5pm do it to let it be known how loved all the boiz where and speeding isn't worth the pain and loss.'' With PAUL MILLAR