‘A wonderful father’: Barossa Valley dad Danny Staehr killed in single-car rollover two days before Christmas

Family and friends are mourning a “gentle and kind” Barossa Valley dad who would “do anything” for his kids. He was killed in a crash just hours before Christmas Eve.

Danny Staehr, 52, who died after a single-car rollover at Kapunda, in a picture from Facebook.

A deadly single-car rollover has destroyed Christmas for a Barossa Valley family.

Father of three Danny Staehr was only minutes from his home when he was killed in the crash.

Family friends said the 52-year-old was a local larrikin whose young children were his world.

Beth Williams told The Advertiser her friend was “an amazing man”.

“He was gentle, kind, a wonderful father and would do anything to help people,” she said.

She said the Kapunda and Barossa Valley communities were “hurting immensely” at the tragedy.

Another family friend, Ryan Werner, said Mr Staehr was devoted to his children.

“He’d do anything for them, anything for them,” Mr Werner said.

Danny Staehr, 52, died in a single-vehicle rollover near his home on the evening of December 23.

Around 9.20pm on Friday night, emergency services were called to Truro Rd near Brewery Rd to reports of a single car rollover.

The driver and sole occupant of the Ford Falcon died at the scene. He was identified on Saturday as Mr Staehr.

“He meant everything, like if you needed something, he’d be there,” Mr Werner told 7NEWS Adelaide.

“Just didn’t think it was real, I thought someone was joking to me or what if I was in a dream.”

He and a relative, Ben Werner, saw the 52-year-old earlier at a lunch on the day of the crash.

“I just said to him you know, drive safe, take it easy, you know – enjoy Christmas, all the same ... and then you hear this,” Ben Werner said.

“We will miss him, it will make Christmas very hard,” Ryan Werner added.

Emergency services crews at the crash scene near Kapunda. Picture: 7NEWS Adelaide

SA Police Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams said no one wants to receive a message that a family member is no longer with them.

“The loss of any life to the community and family and friends at any time is bad, but it’s obviously particularly bad the closer we get to Christmas and becomes more poignant for those people,” she said.

“What I would say to people is, as you’re using the roads at any time, and particularly at the moment because people are trying to get to places perhaps in a hurry, they may be travelling to areas that are unfamiliar to them, on country roads, just pay attention to what you’re doing.

“Get there safely, get there in one piece so that you can actually spend the time with your loved ones.”

Truro Rd was closed for several hours while Major Crash officers examined the scene.

The man’s death is the 67th life lost on SA Roads compared to 97 at the same time last year.

Police are appealing to any witnesses of the crash to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

A man has been arrested following an alleged assault and crash at Netley. Picture: 7NEWS

Meanwhile, a man has been arrested following an alleged assault and crash at Netley.

Around 6.30pm on Friday, the 52-year-old man from Darlington reportedly crashed his car into bollards at a service station on Marion Rd.

The man proceeded to assault a staff member before fleeing the scene. The staff member was not physically injured.

Shortly after, a member of the public was threatened with a knife by the driver of a grey Commodore on Port Rd at Queenstown.

The man reportedly hit a fence and bollards at a service station on Marion Rd before fleeing and threatening a driver with a knife. Picture: 7NEWS

PolAir were called in to assist and tracked the car, alerting patrols to his movements and road spikes were successfully deployed at Marion Rd and Hounslow Ave.

The car continued a short distance before stopping on Hardys Rd where the driver attempted to run from the scene, but was arrested nearby without incident.

The man was arrested and taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he is undergoing a mental health assessment.

He is expected to be charged with aggravated assault, possessing an offensive weapon, assault and traffic offences.