16-Year Old Aussie BMXer Killed in Car Wreck

Sad news from Oz today, as details of the death of 16-year old Ebony Dunsworth are reaching North America. Ebony was out at a party with friends Sunday night and, at the end of the night, decided to alter her original plans to ride home with a friend’s mother and, instead, continue the evening fun. She sped off into the night with four male friends (three from the party and a fourth who arrived after who was, apparently, the driver).

News reports are conflicting as to whether the driver was 20 or 23 years of age, but what seems certain is that the driver was driving recklessly–so much so that the group was seen arguing on the side of the road as to whether the driver should be behind the wheel at all. Reports of the incident had the vehicle traveling at speeds approaching 90MPH.

Minutes later, as Ebony was talking to a friend in a nearby car on her cell, the driver’s apparent recklessness and excessive speed through a roundabout would cause the car to flip, tear the roof off the vehicle, and catapult Ebony clear of the scene, where she was found unresponsive and was later pronounced dead by EMTs at the scene.

The driver and the other passengers survived, with various injuries, but were all expected to recover.

Ebony was a member of the Knox BMX club, and had raced in the club, as well as on raced the state and national level, since she was seven.

Trevor Dunsworth, Ebony’s father, said of his daughter in an interview with Australian media:

“She (was) a very sensible, clever young lady. Obviously she’d had a couple of drinks and it all becomes fun, the responsibility is gone….She was doing very well at school. And mate she was just a rager, like she loved having fun, she was really into life and enjoying life.” he said.

Tuesday Morning he said, in another interview,

“There’s always going to be peer pressure, there’s always going to be alcohol and there’s always going to be speeding drivers, but if this saves even one other kid’s life, I am going to push it as hard as I can,”

Mr Dunsworth said Ebony was allowed to go to the party, with the understanding that she would get a ride home from friend and her mom at 11.30pm.

But when the parent came to pick them up, Ebony said she wanted to stay, and said she’d get a ride home with someone else.

Mr Dunsworth said that was the decision that ultimately killed his daughter.

“We can’t blame anybody else – she knew better but after a bit of alcohol it all becomes fun,” he said, adding “We don’t know if it was alcohol or peer pressure or both (that contributed to her decision to get into the car).”