A RINGWOOD East army cadet who died in a car accident last week has been remembered as a potential "future leader of Australia".
Genevieve Matarazzo, of Vermont, was driving north on Melba Highway, Yering, just after 5pm last Thursday when she lost control on a sweeping bend.
Ms Matarazzo's car clipped a Toyota Hilux utility travelling in the opposite direction. It then collided with an oncoming four-wheel-drive.
Ms Matarazzo, 18, and her 19-year-old passenger Shannon Lurati, of Chirnside Park, died at the scene.
Two people in the four-wheel-drive were taken to the Maroondah Hospital suffering from abrasions and shock, a Metropolitan Ambulance spokesman said.
Ringwood East Army Cadets Adjutant Lieutenant Margaret Benoit said Australia had lost a "future leader" with Ms Matarazzo's death. Genevieve was our most senior cadet in our unit. She was in charge of organising activities [and] overseeing the cadets. Her aspirations were to join the army."
Lieutenant Benoit described Ms Matarazzo as a fun person with a beautiful personality.
She said the cadets were grief-stricken by her death. "She was a leader the cadets respected and looked up to and I think that's why she's so greatly missed. It was one of Gen's best friends who died in the accident with her. So many young people, so many people, have been touched by this."
Hundreds of tributes to the two young women have been posted on a Facebook social networking page titled RIP Shannon and Gen!
Kendrick Pine wrote: "Goodbye CUO Matarazzo. Thank you for being such an inspiration to all of us at the cadet unit. We will miss you and never forget you."
Sara Valentino wrote: "Two beautiful people taken from us far too early. They will live on in our hearts and we will always keep a special place in there for them. RIP beautiful girls."
Tegan Cant wrote: "Shannon, you were such a beautiful girl, you were always so kind and friendly and I never knew you to not have a smile on your face. Thank you for being such a wonderful person, I was so lucky to have called you my friend."
Ms Matarazzo is survived by her parents, Adrian and Jo, and her older siblings, Natalie and Dominic.
The death of the two teenagers means the Shire of Yarra Ranges has reached its average annual road toll in less than six months.
A VicRoads spokesman said that until Thursday, there had been four casualty crashes on the Melba Highway, between MacIntyre Lane and the Yering Station Winery access, in the five years to December 31 last year, but no deaths.
Sergeant John Morgan, of Yarra Ranges traffic management unit, said it was frustrating to see the road toll climb when his unit was "flat out" with road safety operations.
"It's just a tragedy when you've got two young people die like this," he said. "We're going to do everything we can in terms of police visibility and all that, but people have to take a bit of responsibility, too, if we're going to get to the end of the year without too many more fatalities."
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