Two sisters discovered their brother had died in a horror smash when they logged into Facebook to check messages wishing them a happy birthday.
Angela and Maryanne Vourlis, who are twins, logged onto the social networking site on their 20th birthday and were confronted with the news their 17-year-old brother Bobby had been killed in a crash in Sydney, Australia, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Two of Bobby's friends — Chris Naylor, 19, and Kelsie Coleman, 15 — were also killed in the crash.
"I didn't get it — all these people were writing 'RIP Chris Naylor' and 'RIP Bobby', and I thought: 'What's going on?'," Angela told the Telegraph.
Angela tried calling her brother's phone but there was no answer.
"So I rang mum and said: 'Chris Naylor must have died — I just read it on Facebook. But Where's Bobby? People are writing 'RIP Bobby' too'," Angela said.
Her mother informed her Bobby was in the same car as Chris Naylor.
A delay from the police in notifying them of Bobby's death meant both mother and daughter found out via Facebook, leading Mrs Vourlis to ring police to confirm her son's death.
Bobby had been a passenger in a Ford Falcon XR6 driven by Naylor, a P-Plater who lost control in the wet on Sunday morning.
Two more of their friends, who were driving a Commodore behind the ill-fated car and witnessed the crash, told investigators they hadn't been drag racing.
Police believe the driver was doing the 80km/h speed limit but it was still too fast for the slippery conditions after a night of heavy rain.
The car crossed two lanes of a highway before it ended up a crumpled mess in front of a church.
The bumper bar landed behind the church's fence.
"The reason why the accident has happened is no doubt the (car) has aquaplaned and lost control with the water," Superintendent Ray Filewood told reporters in Sydney.
It's not yet known if the driver had been drinking.
The two survivors, 16-year-old Laura Daniel and 17-year-old Racheal Graham, were taken to hospital where they had surgery to their legs.
Police said the group were on their way home after a night out and weren't far from their destination.
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