He crashed near his home; he died at the hands of those who came to help.

There are calls for help that arrive with the best of intentions, and there are calls that lead to outcomes no one could have foreseen. On Sunday afternoon, in the quiet countryside north of Yass, New South Wales, a crash on a rural road set in motion a chain of events that ended with a father of six dead, shot by the officers who had come to save him.

Emergency services were dispatched to Corringle Lane in Rugby, about 84 kilometres north of Yass, after reports that a Chrysler station wagon had crashed into a tree . Witnesses told triple-0 they had seen the driver, later identified as 45-year-old Danny Di Biccari, unconscious in the driver's seat. One reportedly flagged a possible firearm inside the vehicle .

When officers from the Hume Police District approached the car to perform first aid, police say Di Biccari confronted them with a loaded rifle. Assistant Commissioner Stephen Hegarty said officers "tried to speak and communicate with that person who did not respond," before he "took possession of a firearm and pointed it directly at the police officer" . At that point, police opened fire.

Officers performed CPR, but Di Biccari could not be revived. He was declared dead at the scene .

Di Biccari was a father of six and lived on a nearby property with his partner and four of their children. His sister-in-law, Tahya Gardner, confirmed his death in an emotional social media post. "Behind everything that happened, there was a person - a brother, a father, a son, a family member and a friend," she wrote. "He was a good person who was loved deeply by the people who knew him, and he leaves behind children who now have to grow up without their dad" .

Hegarty acknowledged the "traumatic" nature of the incident, saying it would stay with the officers "for the rest of their lives." He commended their bravery in approaching a vehicle knowing a firearm was present . Police confirmed Di Biccari had a history of gun offences and was previously subject to a firearm prohibition order

A detailed critical incident investigation has been launched by the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad, with independent review by the Professional Standards Command and oversight by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission . Investigators will examine whether the crash was an accident, a self-harm attempt, or an attempt to lure officers into a trap .

For the family of Danny Di Biccari, the questions are personal and painful. For the officers involved, the memory of that Sunday afternoon will not fade. And for the community of Rugby, a quiet rural road has become the site of a tragedy that no one anticipated and no one can undo.

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Sources: Daily Mail, News24 Australia