On a brisk Saturday morning in April 2021, Aaron Wolfe set out with his friends to buy some Easter eggs.
The holiday was a special one for the Wolfe family, but this year would be particularly so.
A period of isolation between father and son had recently lifted, and Aaron was always the life of the party at family get-togethers.
Yet Easter 2021 is a holiday the Wolfes will always remember for different reasons.
Aaron never came home with chocolate eggs.
The 29-year-old rolled his car on an unfamiliar road and died.
His two passengers were able to escape unharmed.
"A couple of days later I had to formally identify Aaron's body at the coroner's," his mother Norma Wolfe said.
"That's something no parent should ever have to do."
Lingering pain
The hurt the Wolfes feel after their son's death is something that will never go away.
Easter was supposed to be a time of healing for the family, a time when Aaron and his father James would reconnect after three years.
"We don't celebrate Easter anymore," Mrs Wolfe said.
"We haven't reached the point where we can do it without without Aaron, because he was a central part of our lives."
The Wolfes have joined forces with Victoria Police to plead with drivers of all ages to take care this holiday period.
It's part of an awareness campaign around the force's latest holiday road campaign: Operation Nexus.
"Don't drink, don't take drugs, don't get on your phone," Mr Wolfe said.
"Just pay attention to the road or else you're gonna end up like we are — destroyed."
Traumatic time
Victoria Police said three people had died on the first three days of April.
There have been 11 lives lost during the past five Easter holiday periods.
"That's 11 lives that have been cut short, and don't get to remember Easter for anything other than tragedy, rather than being with family and friends," Assistant Commissioner for Road Policing, Glenn Weir, said.
"We know it's been a shocking start to the year.
"As of today, we've lost 87 lives on Victorian roads, compared to 66 at the same time last year."
Road safety authorities were particularly concerned with a rise in fatalities on rural roads, which accounted for 60 per cent of deaths this year.
Operation Nexus started on Thursday and will run until midnight on Monday.
