Healthcare couple killed in horror crash just eight days after fifth wedding anniversary in western Victoria

A beloved healthcare couple been identified after they were killed in a horror three-vehicle crash in western Victoria.

Shuai “Michael” Zheng, 38, and his wife Angela Wang, 31, were travelling in an MG ZS when it collided with a Mitsubishi Triton and a truck on the Western Highway, near Mount Drummond Rd, in Ledcourt about 6.45pm on Sunday.

The husband and wife, both Chinese nationals who had made their home in Australia, died at the scene.

Tenesha Fieldsend, a 14-year-old passenger in the Mitsubishi, was airlifted to hospital but later died.

Just eight days earlier, Zheng and Wang had marked five years of marriage, having tied the knot on September 19, 2021.

The couple had built a life together in western Victoria, where Zheng was a manager at Horsham Dental Group and Wang worked as a nurse at Grampians Health Horsham and Dimboola.

They also shared a beloved cavoodle, Peanut, who regularly featured in their lives.

Jingjing Tang, who got to know the couple through Peanut, remembered Zheng and Wang as a “lovely young couple” who were “kind, quiet and friendly”.

She revealed the pair had been looking forward to an exciting new chapter in their lives after working hard to build a future together. 

“The last time (I saw them) Michael proudly told me that they had been granted Australia permanent residency, and he had been promoted to manager at the dental clinic,” Tang told 7NEWS.com.au.

“They talked about their new home being built in Ballarat and their plans to have a baby.

“It really felt like a new chapter of their lives was just beginning.

“They seemed so happy and full of hope. I remember feeling genuinely happy for them.

“I could never, ever have imagined that it would become my final memory of them. It’s incredibly heartbreaking.”

Their sudden deaths have also devastated friends and colleagues across the local healthcare community, who have remembered the couple for their kindness, warmth and devotion to one another.

Horsham Dental Group paid tribute to Zheng as not only a colleague, but a friend.

“Michael was a great person who we were proud to have known, worked with and called our friend,” the group said in a statement.

“Through Michael, we heard sweet stories about Angela and we wish we got to know her better. 

“They were both well loved and respected by the community and will be deeply missed. 

“We will forever remember them in our heart.”

A former colleague of Zheng told 7NEWS.com.au she remembered her time working alongside him as “genuinely positive”.

“He was a considerate, caring, and friendly person. I will dearly miss him,” she said. 

Wang’s colleagues also paid tribute to the “beautiful, kind and caring” nurse, who was affectionately known as Anji, or Anqi.

“Fly high my beautiful friend Anji, it was a pleasure to work beside you,” one colleague wrote. 

“I’ll always treasure our conversations, I can still see your big smiling face or look of confusion when we use a new ‘slang’. 

“I still feel your light touch on my shoulder followed by your forehead and a very quiet I’m so tired Leah after a long night or PM shift. 

“You faced even the toughest of times with a big smile and calm demeanour.

“Beautiful and kind inside and out, our angel on earth now in heaven!”

Another colleague said it had been an “absolute honour” to work alongside Wang.

“Anji, your heart was big and pure, it was an absolute honour to nurse alongside you,” they wrote.

“Our laughs and the scrunchie you made me will be forever treasured. Fly high.”

Amid the grief, friends have taken comfort in the fact Zheng and Wang remained together until the end.

“A truly amazing and caring nurse. Wyuna will miss you dearly,” one tribute read.

“Such a tragedy, so young and whole life ahead of them.

“Forever together, bonded in life and eternity.”

Crash investigation continues

Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the three-vehicle crash.

The 17-year-old learner driver of the Mitsubishi and an 11-year-old girl who was also travelling in the ute were airlifted to hospital with minor injuries.

A 43-year-old woman in the Mitsubishi and the 29-year-old truck driver were not injured.

Anyone who witnessed the crash, has CCTV or dashcam footage, or has other information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.