It was said several times across the day: the events that unfolded early on Wednesday were a parent's worst nightmare.
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One minute they are waving goodbye in the chill early morning to nervous and excited teenage girls, off on the trip of a lifetime, the next they are reeling with the news something has gone horribly wrong.
Many of these parents will have helped those same Loreto students pack their suitcases for the thrilling prospect of the annual 'space camp' and hours later those suitcases are tumbled chaotically across the roadside.
The Courier can only imagine the frantic, uncertain hours that must have passed for these families learning the first details and then slowly getting a clearer picture.
The poor girls themselves, even those not seriously hurt, on the cusp of a brilliant learning opportunity must now live with the trauma and disruption that such a calamity entails.
The frequency of road tragedy, the coldness of statistics, cannot take away from the shattering and enveloping reality of what it is like when it happens to you.
Parents everywhere will want to hold their children a little closer today.
The Courier extends our sympathy and support to the Loreto community and all those affected by this crash.
We, too, feel the horror.
But it it is also worth highlighting the power of the community in responding to trauma.
The extra effort by emergency and health services was exceptional.
Loreto College principal Michelle Brodrick was loud and clear in her praise and thanks for them and the wider community, as everyone from the Premier Daniel Andrews down offered their support.
This is only the start of a journey towards recovery for families, teachers and the students.
We must be there to listen but we can also take some comfort in the spirit of empathy and help this community has shown in the face of trauma.
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