WHERE do you park the grief of losing a child?
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You can’t.
But you can channel that corrosive energy into something more productive.
That’s precisely what Wagga parents Michele and Stevan Woolstencroft are doing.
Last month, they lost their son, Sam.
He was the passenger in a car that struck a tree after hitting a bump in the road at a perilous blackspot in country Victoria.
The 19-year-old Wagga man was killed and his long-time partner left fighting for her life.
Sam’s mate, John Dodd, also tragically died.
His mother, who was not affected by alcohol, drugs or fatigue, was driving the car in which her son perished.
Earlier this month, both families gathered together for a combined funeral for the two close friends.
Tributes, and tears, flowed freely for the boys.
Sam was described as perpetually smiling and with a deep and abiding passion for family, his girlfriend and gaming.
"He befriended many other kids and had a real impact on younger kids at his school,” his mum said.
"I'll miss his voice, his face and his laughter – his presence just made you feel good."
But there can be no closure without answers and Sam’s parents made it their mission to understand how the accident could have happened.
What they uncovered was horrifying.
Six other people had lost their lives on the same stretch of road and despite repeated pleas from grieving families and local politicians for it to be upgraded, it remained a blackspot.
Another mum who lost a child on the road had garnered hundreds of signatures on a petition demanding the road be fixed, but still nothing.
Locals that travel the road regularly say rollovers are a weekly occurrence.
The Woolstencrofts have an emotional stake in this fight and they won’t let it go.
They will lobby VicRoads through whatever means possible until they force action.
"Sam would say this is the honourable thing to do, to stop other deaths on the road,” Mrs Woolstencroft said.
What more motivation does a mother need?