An unlicensed driver charged after a schoolgirl was struck dead at a southern Sydney bus stop is the sister of former NRL star Joe Galuvao.
Galuvao, a two-time premiership winner for Manly Sea Eagles and Penrith Panthers, said his family were waiting to get legal advice before making any comment.
Police arrested Puipuimaota Galuvao, 26, after the car she was driving mounted a footpath and fatally hit Aneri Patel outside a Kogarah chemist on Monday morning.
The Kogarah High School student died in the same spot as St George TAFE fashion student Emma Hansen, who was killed by a learner driver in 2007.
It is alleged Ms Galuvao, of Como, was unlicensed at the time she lost control of a Mitsubishi Challenger 4WD, which struck the girl before injuring two other people inside O'Reilly & Daly Chemist about 11.30am.
Police have charged her with several driving offences including dangerous driving occasioning death and driving without a licence.
She was driving the car for her friend and passenger Heidi Watson, 29, who had just appeared at Kogarah Local Court on driving charges herself.
Hours after police laid charges, the distraught parents of the schoolgirl visited the spot where their only daughter was killed on Railway Parade.
Nikul and Sonal Patel were flanked by more than a dozen family and friends when they left a bouquet on top of a mountain of flowers and notes that had been left.
They were too distraught to speak but a family spokesman said the family was overcome with grief.
"She was so beautiful, she had a very bright future," he said.
"Our whole community is shocked.
"It happened seven years ago and it's happened again."
Another friend said the family would meet Kogarah Council over the incident.
"We can't believe the pain they are going through," he said
"They should prevent what happened there; this is the second time it's happened."
The crash has sparked debate among residents, business owners and road safety experts about how to stop a third death occurring at the black spot.
Experts are calling for a reduction in the Railway Parade speed limit from 50km/h to 30km/h and steel bollards and barriers to be installed outside the chemist.
Commuters want the bus stop moved from the dangerous corner, while taxi drivers want directional traffic signals at the intersection.
"That corner could be improved with fencing to deflect the kinetic forces of the vehicle impact into vulnerable road users on the footpath as well as other road users," Lori Mooren, a road safety expert at the University of New South Wales, said.
Huddled together with their hands clasped, Kogarah High School students sang Eric Clapton's Tears In Heaven in memory of their friend near the crash site on Tuesday.
One student said it was hard to believe that their friend was really gone after she had sat an exam earlier in the morning.
"She was quiet but a great friend," she said.
Heidi Watson and two young children – aged two and four – who were in the car were not injured.
Roads Minister Duncan Gay said he would ensure changes were made to the road.
"The investigation will look at a range of options including further reducing the speed limit, installing physical barriers and examining the location of the bus stop and the vehicle turning arrangements at the intersection," he said.
Ms Galuvao was granted bail and will appear in Kogarah Local Court on October 14.
