A P-plate driver has been charged after his schoolmate died in a single-vehicle crash on Sydney’s Northern Beaches earlier this month.

Barney Wakes-Miller, 17, died after a car he was in hit a sandstone boundary fence in Elanora Heights.

Police were called to the scene about 11.10pm on July 18 and found Barney in the rear passenger seat, suffering critical head injuries.

Despite the best efforts of police and paramedics, he could not be revived.

About noon on Tuesday, the driver of the car was arrested at Manly police station.

He was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning death, not complying with a condition on his provisional licence to not have more than one passenger under 18 after 11pm, driving with four unrestrained passengers, a sustained loss of traction and driving at a speed or in a manner that is dangerous.

At the time of the crash, the four surviving passengers – three 16-year-old boys and a 16-year-old girl – were taken to hospital as a precaution, and the 17-year-old driver was taken for mandatory testing.

The driver, Barney and the other three male passengers attended school together at St Augustine’s College in Brookvale.

Police forensically examined the crash site, which was later covered in flowers by friends, family and other local residents.

Barney’s parents released a statement to the Manly Daily shortly after the crash, praising the teenager for his “artistic brilliance” and devotion to his siblings.

“Barn was our rainbow, a complex mix of light and shade, and we will look for him in the sky when the rain falls and the sun shines,” the statement read.

“At night, he is the brightest star in the sky. He will always be with us. We love him, and he is part of all that is good, creative and brilliant.”

Friends of the family have set up a GoFundMe to help cover funeral costs or anything else the family may need and a meal train to help them through their ordeal.

The driver of the car was granted conditional bail on Tuesday and will reappear at a children’s court on August 12.

Hannah.moore1@news.com.au

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