A witness has described seeing scenes of "carnage and heartbreak" after coming across a horror collision involving a maxi-taxi at Edgeworth in the early hours of Saturday morning that left 10 people in hospital, one in a critical condition, and a teenage driver in police custody.
Police said the 17-year-old driver of one of the cars had returned a positive result after a roadside breath test.
The teenager had four passengers in the car. Three of those, two girls aged 14 and a 17-year-old boy, suffered serious injuries. The driver and a fourth passenger, also 17, suffered minor injuries.
The maxi-taxi driver, a 46-year-old man, and two female passengers, aged 42 and 24, suffered serious injuries.
One of the taxi passengers, mother-of-three Tamika Wever, remains in a critical condition, and the driver is in a serious but stable condition.
Friends and family of 24-year-old Ms Wever took to social media over the weekend to pray for her recovery.
"This is devastating," one friend said.
Another said Ms Wever was "the most beautiful human" and "we all just want you to wake up please".
Three more taxi passengers, men aged 28, 35, and 47, suffered minor injuries.
NSW police said they were patrolling along Main Road about 1.10am when they noticed a Holden Commodore leaving a service station.
The officers u-turned with the intention of stopping the car, but they said it continued along Main Road and travelled through a red light and collided with a maxi-taxi, turning the taxi on its side.
A passing truck driver said he had to close the curtains in his cab so he could not see the scene as police and emergency services rushed to help those injured on the road.
The road was closed for more than four hours, the driver said, lauding the efforts of police, paramedics and firefighters who tended to the injured.
The truckie said he clocked up 600 kilometres each day in the course of his driving career, but the sight of the crash made him "ill to the stomach".
"Someone was hanging out of the window," he said. "I just thought, 'It's school holidays and I haven't seen my kids all week.'
"I couldn't wait to come home and just hug my boys and my wife after seeing it unfold. Please take care and be safe on the roads."
The driver of the Holden was taken to hospital, under police guard, where he underwent mandatory testing.
The teen has since been conveyed to Toronto Police Station, where he remains in custody.
The boy was refused bail to face a children's court on Sunday.
He was charged with three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, eight counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, driving while disqualified and not stopping before lights at a red light.
As inquiries continue, any witnesses or anyone with dash cam vision is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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