The devastated brother of a teenager whose body was found in her wrecked car more than a day after it crashed off a road in Sydney's west said he knew something was wrong when his sister did not return his phone calls or text messages.
"My little sister, my only sister is no longer with us, I'm just shattered, don't know how to handle this," wrote Ravi Kumar, following the death of his sister, Aashna Kumar, in the crash at Cecil Park at the weekend.
Police believe Ms Kumar, who turned 18 in January, was driving east along Elizabeth Drive in Cecil Park about 4.30am on Sunday when her white Hyundai i20 hit a power pole and a tree, crashed off the road and into a ditch.
While the wrecked vehicle came to rest just 10 metres from the road, thick scrub hid it from anyone driving by.
It was not until Telstra employees working in the area saw the damaged vehicle about 11.40am on Monday and went to investigate that Ms Kumar's body was found inside the vehicle. She had been there for more than 31 hours, police believe.
More than 100 condolence messages have been posted online for Ms Kumar, from Oxley Park, including from her family, school friends and work colleagues. Ms Kumar's Facebook page says that she had recently started at the University of Western Sydney.
Her brother, whose Facebook page says he lives in Hamilton, New Zealand, mourned the loss of his sister on the social media site, writing: "REST IN PEACE MY BEAUTIFUL SIS.
"I can't believe that you're gone. Nothing's going to be the same anymore, I can't call you on the phone anymore but in my heart, I'll talk to you everyday.
"I Love you & I Miss you."
In a separate post, Mr Kumar said he had filed a missing persons report from overseas.
"I'm not sure what I'm feeling at the moment, mentally drained and emotionally scarred and traumatised, I've been crying for the past 24hours, I think that just about sums it up," he wrote.
Mr Kumar shared a family photo album, showing his sister and their relatives enjoying family get-togethers, family members holding babies, as well as photographs of Ms Kumar as a toddler.
A friend remembered Ms Kumar as a "beautifully natured and deeply kind person".
"My thoughts and prayers are with your family during this unimaginably difficult time," she wrote.
Another friend said: "RIP to one of the most beautiful girls! You will be missed by everyone."
A NSW Police spokesman said on Wednesday morning that the cause of the teenager's death was still under investigation. Her family had been notified of her death, he said.
However, the family, like the police, were still searching for answers about the exact circumstances of how Ms Kumar crashed off the road.
Earlier, Detective Inspector Brendan Bernie, from the Green Valley Local Area Command, told Fairfax Media that police were able to narrow down the time of the crash because a power outage was reported in the area at 4.30am on Sunday.
"There was a power pole and tree just further west of where the vehicle was found which had damage consistent with being hit by a car," Detective Inspector Bernie said.
"The business that operates the poles has recorded an outage at that time of the morning, which suggests the collision may have occurred about 4.30am.
"Unfortunately the car went into some quite thick scrub and down an embankment. It wasn't until workmen doing some work in the area on Monday morning came across the vehicle that police were alerted."
Detective Inspector Bernie said there were no known witnesses to the crash, and police were appealing for anyone with information about Ms Kumar's movements on Saturday night or the early hours of Sunday morning to contact them.
Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or to use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.
