The Sunrise host broke down in tears after he received a letter from the South Australian Police Commissioner regarding the death of his son Charlie Stevens.
He was killed by a car while he and his friends were on a schoolies trip. The incident occurred on Friday night at an intersection about 90 kilometers southeast of Adelaide.
Charlie was airlifted to a hospital after suffering a serious head injury, and he passed away on Saturday evening.
His father, Grant Stevens, and his wife, Emma, released a letter to their son, which referred to him as “101,” the number of people who have died on South Australian roads this year.
In the letter, Commissioner Stevens described the state of his son’s bedroom. He wrote that it was messy and full of drinking glasses and other objects.
There were also empty KFC boxes next to the glasses, and the wardrobe doors were left open.
On April 28, 2005, “101” arrived, and it changed our lives forever. He was a different kind of kid, and he was also a kind and helpful person who would help others in need.
A part of the letter was shown during the end of a television program on Tuesday, when the Commissioner’s statement about the incident was revealed.
Matt Shirvington, the host of the program, said it was hard to comprehend what the family was going through.
He also described the situation as heartbreaking. He and his wife, Nat, have lost several teenage children, and it is very hard to get through.
Sitting alongside Shirvington, the co-host of the program, Natalie Barr, was visibly upset.
She struggled to hold back her tears as the story and the letter were shown.
She said that she wanted to say that Charlie was a force of nature and that everyone would remember his smile.
The tragic incident has touched the hearts of Australians. Shirvington and Barr then took a break from the program to go back to a commercial.
The eighteen-year-old man who was allegedly driving the car that caused the accident, which killed Charlie, was granted bail and will appear in court again in March.
He has been charged with various offenses.
