Most teenagers would be celebrating their graduation from high school but what is supposed to be a beautiful time has turned into tragedy.
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Eighteen-year-old Luke McCue died in a car accident when his vehicle left the road and crashed through a fence on Sunday morning.
Luke the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle died at the scene.
Earlier this year, he had been named the Crookwell Young Citizen of the Year at the Upper Lachlan Shire Australia Day Awards.
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Luke recently graduated from Trinity Catholic College in Goulburn and had accepted an auto-electrician apprenticeship at Lee and Thomas.
Luke was the 2020 school captain at Trinity, a role he had also held in primary school at St Mary's in Crookwell.
Principal Gaye McManus said, "the Trinity community is grieving the loss of an outstanding young man."
Mrs McManus described the popular young man as a dedicated and natural leader who inspired others.
"Luke was a beautiful young man, much loved by the Trinity students and staff. We were very proud of him," she said.
"Luke was one of those people who had a ready and welcome smile. He brought much love and joy to us all."
Luke had been a promising student and was highly involved in school life and participating in events.
"What Luke loved most about school was the relationships formed with his peers and teachers. People were important to him. He loved nothing more than having a chat," Mrs McManus said.
"The younger students looked up to Luke with great affection and admiration."
His father, John McCue said that outside of school he had loved fishing and his WB One-Tonner.
Earlier this week, over 80 students, faculty and parents gathered at the Chapel of St Patrick at the school to remember Luke.
"As with the rest of the 2020 cohort, Luke was relieved and pleased to have finished the year. It had been a challenging year for them but they showed great resilience and strength."
Tributes have flowed for the young man from the community who have been shocked and saddened by the tragedy.