A teenager who excitedly texted her two best friends to say she had passed her driver’s test tragically died behind the wheel less than four hours later.
Kimberley Berente, 17, from Mandurah south of Perth, messaged her friends on Tuesday morning ‘I got my licence’ just before 9am.
The trio then set off to a nearby beach in Bouvard to celebrate the milestone, but by 12.30pm, the bubbly teenager driver was dead.
Berente lost control of her Subaru Outback, rolling the vehicle several times on the unsealed and corrugated dirt track.
Local police on the scene described her head injuries as ‘catastrophic’.
The two passengers in the car managed to climb from the wreckage with just a few minor cuts and bruises.
Both girls are recovering at Royal Perth Hospital.
Investigators don’t believe speed was a factor behind the fatality, instead pointing to driver inexperience.
All three girls were believed to be wearing seat belts.
Several of Berente’s friends posted tributes on social media, describing the Year 11 Halls Head College student as a bubbly girl who was also a motocross enthusiast.
