Young mechanic’s tragic final conversation with his ‘struggling’ friend before flipping his car and dying in devastating crash
- Daniel Lewis, 21, became the first road casualty of 2023 in New Year’s Day crash
- Lewis was driving home from a party at the Corrigan Hotel in WA at 1am
- The crash scene was discovered just before 10am on January 1 by police
- Tributes flowed in for Lewis, a beloved friend and young mechanic
Tributes are pouring in for a young mechanic described as a ‘one in a million’ friend who tragically became the first road death of 2023.
Daniel Lewis, 21, suffered critical injuries when his Holden Colorado rolled off Corrigin South Road, three hours west of Perth, in Western Australia on New Year’s Day.
Lewis, who was a third-year apprentice working as an agricultural fitter, died at the scene.
The young mechanic had been out celebrating the New Year with his mates at the Corrigin Hotel before leaving at about 1am.
Western Australian Police said the crash site was reported at about 9.44am on Sunday with Lewis the only occupant of the vehicle.
Daniel Lewis (pictured), 21, died after his Holden Colorado rolled off Corrigan South Road in Western Australia on New Years Day after leaving a party at 1am
His friend Meg Rawlings was the last person to see Lewis alive and told 7News that as she walked him to the car he told her he had high hopes for the year ahead.
‘He told me when I walked him out that this year will be a better year for me after I had a lot going on last year and that he will see me tomorrow,’ Ms Rawlings said.
‘He gave me a hug and kiss on the head and I watched him drive away.’
Ms Rawlings said she knew something was off the next morning when he hadn’t contacted her.
His death has left Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region reeling.
‘Everyone in Corrigin knew who he was. He’s just a very well respected guy, someone that was always a phone call away and someone who would do anything for you,’ Ms Rawlings said.
‘He was like an older brother I never had and I will miss him a lot.’
Lewis was a former student at the WA College of Agriculture Cunderdin and tributes quickly started being posted online following news of his death.
‘You were absolutely one in a million and more people should strive to be a bit more like Daniel Lewis,’ Juanita MacGregor said online.
Tributes flowed for the young man who told his friend Meg Rawlings, the last person to see Lewis alive, that night that he had high hopes for 2023
‘We hope you’re now farming in the sky and we know for sure you’ll be making everyone up there just a little bit brighter and happier.’
Jo Courboules, a former teacher of Lewis’, shared a touching tribute on Facebook, going as far as to say as he was the type of man she wished her daughter would end up with.
‘Daniel Lewis you were truly one of a kind. I had the privilege of teaching you and watching you grow into the most incredibly kind, genuine, respectful and beautiful human being,’ Ms Courboules wrote.
‘I am so glad and privileged that I got to know you and be in your life in small but special ways.
‘I got to sit and have a drink with you, I got to tell you how much I loved you and the person you are, and I got to tell you that if my daughter ever got to bring home a Daniel Lewis I would be the happiest mumma in the world.
‘Because absolutely no one had nothing but good things to say about you.’
Lewis’s death comes after Western Australia recorded its highest road toll in six years in 2022.
The Major Crash Unit is investigating the incident.
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