Man charged with murder of four people after robbery attempt allegedly led to fatal crash

A man has been charged with four counts of murder and attempted robbery over a crash on the NSW North Coast last year.

Emergency services were called to Back Channel Road near Wardell about 5.45am on February 24, 2024.

Police officers who arrived at the scene found a blue Mazda ute had left the road and crashed into a tree.

READ MORE: Where Cyclone Alfred is hovering right now

All four people in the car died and were later identified as driver Mark Dodds, 36, and passengers Sophie-Lee Fullagar, 33, Benjamin Watego, 50, and James Doherty, 42.

Police will allege that a man in another car attempted to rob the people in the ute, which caused the car to hit a tree, killing the four occupants.

After extensive inquiries, police said they had arrested a 29-year-old man yesterday at Coffs Harbour Police Station.

READ MORE: Democrat removed as Trump addresses Congress

He was charged with four counts of murder, attempted armed robbery, and causing grievous bodily harm.

Police will allege that the 29-year-old man and some of the victims were known to each other.

NSW Police Acting Superintendent Grant Erickson said the accused man was known to frequent the area and had previous dealings with police.

Detectives spoke to the family of the victims this morning.

"This was a tragedy, this will never change the circumstances of what occurred," Acting Superintendent Grant Erickson said.

He was refused bail and appeared in Coffs Harbour Local Court yesterday.

There, he was formally refused bail and will appear again in Lismore Local Court on May 14.

Police said their investigation is ongoing.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.