BREAKING: 'Home and Away' actress Jessica Falkholt passes away, hospital spokesman confirms

“Home and Away” star Jessica Falkholt has passed away today, a St George Hospital spokesman confirmed on behalf of her family. The actress died less than a week after her life support was switched off following a Boxing Day crash that killed her parents and sister.

“Jessica passed away from serious injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on 26 December,” a statement released on Wednesday states, according to News.com.au. Her family has asked privacy during this difficult time, the statement adds.

Falkholt has been in intensive care since the crash. The 29-year-old’s life support was switched off on January 11 following a number of operations. She had reportedly undergone surgeries including the removal of a part of her skull and a kidney, but she still remained in a coma.

The Boxing Day crash also took the lives of her younger sister Annabelle, 21. Her parents Lars, 69, and Vivian, 60, died at the scene. The Falkholts were driving a family car when it was hit by a 4WD head-on on the Princes Highway at Mondayong one day after Christmas Day. The accident also took the life of the 4WD driver. Fifty-year-old Craig Whitall was said to be a serial traffic offender.

Falkholt and her sister were pulled by passers-by from the wreckage before the cars went up in flames. Annabelle passed away in the hospital three days later.

The actress died a week after a funeral was held for her family. An emotional ceremony in Sydney’s west was attended by hundreds of people. Those who knew them remembered Lars and Vivian as "inseparable" and Annabelle as a radiant person.

For Vivian's brother Paul Ponticello, their lives ending on a “highway makes absolutely no sense.”

"We take little comfort in knowing that they are together and always will be,” Sydney Morning Herald reports him as saying.

The family were among 29 people killed on New South Wale roads over the Christmas and New Year. The state government assured that a thorough investigation into what caused the accident will be conducted. NSW drivers are expected to be subject to more roadside drug tests.

Falkholt was known for her role as Hope Morrison on “Home and Away.” She is set to appear in the film “Harmony,” which is slated to be released this year.