Tributes to 28-year-old killed in rideshare crash on way home from birthday night

One of the victims of a horror crash in Sydney celebrated his 28th birthday watching his favorite band play, hours before his life was tragically taken when another car collided with the rideshare he was driving.

Seamus Duignan loved his heavy metal. Videos were taken by the 28-year-old as he celebrated his birthday with friends.

Good friend Jacob Power was supposed to be with Duignan on Friday evening to see the American band Fear Factory, but sold his ticket at the last minute.

“We would have been in a pub or at a friend’s house at some stupid time of the morning and it wouldn’t have happened,” he told 9News.

Duignan had been sending the videos to Power throughout the night.

“He was having the time of his life, he sent me like a million videos,” he said.

“I messaged him at 2am and said, ‘Sorry I couldn’t make it, you looked like you were having a good time, where are you right now?’

“When I woke up in the morning it said he’d been offline for 12 hours – and I thought, ‘That’s not like him’.”

Duignan was driven by Shoaib Hussain, a 22-year-old international student from Pakistan who worked as a ride-hailing driver.

Naseem Naqvi of the Auspak Youth Association described the driver, who was also a disability worker and supported his family at home, as “a very nice person” and “very hardworking”.

The blue Camry they were in was hit by a white Audi driven at high speed by Tamati Gilbert in San Souci in the south of the city, killing them both.

Police had tried to speak to the 42-year-old as part of a mental health check, but he ran off.

His sister Renata Gilbert posted online: “He was a father, son, brother, partner, uncle and friend to many. You are loved and missed.”

Police say Gilbert’s actions on the road were incredibly reckless.

Investigators are now investigating whether drugs or alcohol, along with excessive speed, played a role in the fatal crash.

Duignan’s family said today: “He was so deeply loved, and his passing has left a huge hole in the lives of all who knew him.”

A fundraiser for his mother, with whom he lived, has raised more than $30,000.

There was also a tribute from the band he went to before he was killed.

“Our hearts and condolences go out to their family and friends and everyone affected by this loss,” said Dino Kazares of Fear Factory.