Every South Aussie feels this tragedy personally | Jessica Adamson

It’s hard to understand how someone who has given so much would be dealt one of life’s cruellest hands, writes Jess Adamson.

When my phone rang this morning, I couldn’t believe the news could be true.

How could the youngest son of our Police Commissioner die on our roads?

And like every other South Australian, I am devastated for Grant, Emma and their tight-knit family.

I didn’t know Charlie but I know he was a lot of fun and that everyone around him adored him.

But what struck me as the day went on was just how personally everyone has taken this.

Why? Because Charlie’s Dad, Grant Stevens, has led us through some of the most testing times in the state’s history and this should not happen to him and his family.

Everyday South Australians feel like they know the Commissioner personally and this tragedy cuts right to the core.

Charlie Stevens. Picture: Supplied

SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

We know him to be decent, trustworthy, calm, reassuring and sometimes – when he gets the chance – brilliantly funny and entertaining.

No other Police Commissioner in recent times has had that affect on the community.

When he faced the media on Friday, speaking about the death of Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig, he spoke from the heart about the impact of the shooting on the entire SAPOL family.

It was a heavy burden – Sergeant Doig was the first SA officer to die from a shooting in the line of duty, in four decades.

And so, after one of the toughest days of the Commissioner’s career, he returned to Adelaide and a short time later, received the incomprehensible news that will forever change his life.

He’s dedicated his working life to keeping us safe. It’s hard to understand how someone who has given so much would be dealt one of life’s cruellest hands.

At times, during his steadfast leadership through Covid, Grant barely saw his family – robbed of precious time with his children, because he put us first.

It was during that time too that he was rocked by the death of close friend and much loved senior police officer, Joanne Shanahan, killed in a horror crash at Urrbrae.

The Stevens’ pain is no different of course to any other family who loses a loved on our roads. But it feels very different.

Goolwa resident Dianne Campbell leaves flowers at the crash site. Picture: The Advertiser/ Morgan Sette

I’ve had countless calls from friends and family, in tears, even though they never met Charlie. Fellow journalists messaging to say they have “no words”, police officers in disbelief, emotional mums and dads with teenagers at Schoolies wanting to drive down and pick them up.

The Commissioner’s spoken about our road toll thousands of times over the years.

I can’t count the number of times he’s talked about the devastating and permanent affect that road crashes have on families.

But in an interview with Will and Penbo on FIVEaa earlier this week, he was especially passionate.

I was driving the kids to school and his tone caught my attention enough to make me turn up the volume.

These are not accidents, he said.

Almost every death on our roads this year could have been prevented. They are not bad luck and they do not need to happen.

It was an impassioned plea to the community to stop the bad decisions. Stop the speeding, stop the drink and drug driving, stop the recklessness, stop thinking you’re invincible.

But it didn’t stop and now his beautiful son is one of those statistics.

Every single death on our roads should be a moment in time for us to pause, reset and rethink our behaviour behind the wheel, none more so than Charlie’s.

For now, we must give the Stevens family the respect and space they need to grieve.

God knows they deserve it.