Zach Bray was one of many 10 marriage ceremony friends killed within the horror final weekend, and immediately his father Adam Bray broke his silence.
Adam drove himself to the crash website after listening to news of the crash, unaware if his son had survived or if he had been taken to hospital.
“We checked all the hospitals, [and there was] no sign of Zach,” Adam advised 9News.
“I [was] driving from the Southern Highlands … I’m banging the car door, I’m trying to focus, I’m calling out to him … so my focus is on Zach.
“When I arrived on the crash I used to be advised to attend for news at a close-by cafe, I completely wasn’t going to try this.”
Adam parked his car nearby and walked up the embankment to the overturned bus before he was stopped by police.
”I simply stated, ‘my son’s on that bus’, and so they stated to me, ‘in case your son is on that bus, actually you do not wish to see him’.
“I just sat on the ground, on my own, and broke down, for an hour.”
Today Adam paddled out to sea at Curl Curl Beach with shut buddies, household and Zach’s mom Jackie, to honour their late son.
“I never thought that I’d be sitting in the circle with all his mates and my mates,” Adam advised 9News.
”He would have been deeply, deeply moved.
“It’s overwhelming, it is actually unbelievable. I do not assume I may have gotten by way of that with out that [support].”
Zach had just recently beaten late-stage bowel cancer and was not taking his second chance at life for granted.
“He’s a real fighter … transition from me being his hero to him being my hero,” Adam said.
“It’s a shock that I’m by no means going to recover from, that his mum’s by no means going to recover from.
Zach’s teammates from the Singleton Roosters additionally paid tribute immediately with a neighborhood run in honour of all the victims.
Local soccer and rugby groups wore armbands final evening to pay tribute to the ten victims.
Source: www.9news.com.au