By Max Aitchison For Daily Mail Australia
09:20 20 Jun 2023, updated 09:20 20 Jun 2023
- Alicia Montebello, 31, was warned about driving
- Fatal crash killed her and three teenagers
The woman who died alongside three teenagers in a horrific car crash was warned about her dangerous driving by a magistrate just weeks before.
Alicia Montebello, 31, and three teenagers were killed when her red Toyota Corolla hatchback veered out off a country road and ploughed into a tree near Bochara in south-west Victoria last month.
The young victims were Hamilton teens Meghan Fox, 14, Joshua Elmes, 15, and Lucas Gorzali, 14. Meghan’s sister Jorja survived the crash despite life-threatening injuries.
Now it has emerged that Montebello was warned about her risky driving during an appearance at Warrnambool Magistrates’ Court in April – just six weeks before the fatal smash.
‘In terms of driving behaviours, make sure they are responsible,’ magistrate Franz Holzer told Montebello after she pleaded guilty to wilfully damaging Branxholme Recreation Reserve, near Hamilton, when she was caught ripping up the oval’s turf doing burnouts in February.
The magistrate decided not to restrict her licence, according to Nine newspapers.
Montebello, a Coles checkout supervisor, also pleaded guilty to stalking the Fox sisters at the April 14 court appearance.
Some concerned parents also told police they feared their teenage daughter – who is not being identified by Daily Mail Australia – was being groomed for sex by Ms Montebello.
Daily Mail Australia previously revealed a string of online messages from the adult to the teenager almost half her age, telling her: ‘I love you…I love you little one.’
In another post she added: ‘My best friend – I love you little one.’
Montebello was fined $700 without conviction for wilful damage, two counts of stalking, and four counts of contravening bail.
In addition to the those charges, Ms Montebello also had a lengthy traffic history.
She was disqualified from driving in January 2015 after she was caught drunk in an unregistered car in South Australia.
Montebello was banned for four months and 14 days, but in February 2016 she was banned again for driving while disqualified and given a suspended 12-day jail term.
She had previously faced other charges of speeding, driving an unregistered vehicle and driving with alcohol in her blood while on P plates, as well as drug possession charges.
It was reported earlier this month that police had declared Montebello’s car unroadworthy.
The father of one of the teens killed in the tragic crash revealed he warned his son against getting in the car with Ms Montebello.
Matthew Elmes, 46, father of Joshua, feared Ms Montebello was a dangerous driver who was feeding the youngsters’ need for quick thrills.
‘If you want an adrenaline rush, it’s probably better to go to a theme park or go skydiving, but don’t get in a car,’ said Mr Elmes.
Ms Montebello had been regularly seen driving the Corolla in the area prior to the crash and reportedly encouraged her passengers not to wear seat belts while she drove ‘erratically’.
A haunting video apparently taken inside the car was posted to Snapchat just hours before the crash and appears to show it speeding at 130km/h down a country road.
Police say they have not yet been able to establish who was behind the wheel of the car when it crashed and are still investigating.
Montebello’s distraught mother, Debbie, pleaded with locals to stop pulling down a memorial to her daughter.
‘STOP STOP PLEASE,’ she wrote on a Hamilton residents’ Facebook group.
‘I am begging the people of Hamilton to stop trashing our daughter n sister memorial site. Its killing us.
‘We know you are all angry at Alicia. But please stop. We are grieving n hurting too.’