Nadine Willis describes older brother Darren Ippaviz as her “hero”. He was the elder of her two brothers – they were separated by a 12-year age gap – but his taste in music and love for motorbikes and cars made a lasting impression.
“I remember his face, his smile, his cuddles, his smell,” she says. “My time with him was way too short.”
Nadine Willis and her brother Darren Ippaviz before his tragic death in 1985.
On the evening of March 30, 1985, Darren, 18, was killed while sitting in the front passenger seat of a friend’s car. The vehicle was involved in a street race with another car, when Darren’s friend lost control, skidding for 75 metres before colliding with a power pole. Darren suffered serious injuries and was pronounced dead soon after arriving at Mount Druitt Hospital.
Nadine recalls seeing her sobbing mother being comforted after receiving the news. “Our family life was never the same … I don’t remember a great deal of laughter in our home from this time.”
Now Nadine, a NSW Police officer of 21 years and a traffic officer of 16, is sharing her story in the hope it will help bring an end “stupid and unnecessary” deaths like Darren’s. She has made it her life’s work, joining the force with the “sole reason” of working in the highway patrol.
Sergeant Nadine Willis has been a police officer for 21 years.Credit: Edwina Pickles
NSW Police has recently launched a massive anti-drink driving blitz, as part of Operation RAID (Remove All Impaired Drivers), with thousands of random alcohol and drug tests carried out last week. It conducted about 110,000 breath tests, detecting 132 drink-driving offences.
Some 131 people have already died in crashes in NSW this year – 19 more than this time last year. In April, four of the 36 fatal crashes were believed to be alcohol-related and seven were believed to be drug-related. David Driver, commander of the traffic and highway patrol command, says the death toll so far this year is “still 131 too many”.
“It is concerning to see any offence occur on our roads, but particularly drink- and drug-driving combined with high speed.”
As part of Operation RAID, police also conducted 6841 drug tests, with 461 people testing positive.
A NSW drug summit this year suggested introducing a medical defence for anyone driving while using medically prescribed cannabis. It is unknown which drugs were detected during last week’s operation.
The operation is part of efforts to commemorate 100 years of road safety in NSW since the foundation of the Public Safety Bureau in 1925.
A convoy of police vehicles, including 11 historic police cars, will drive from Sydney Motorsport Park to the Opera House on Monday, and the Harbour Bridge has been lit up in yellow from Sunday night to mark Road Safety Week.
The Traffic and Highway Patrol Command is also marking its 50th anniversary, with milestones including the introduction of the mandatory seatbelts in 1971, random breath testing in 1982, and roadside drug testing in 2007.
Fatal crashes roughly halved between 1975, when there were 1288, and 1995, when there were 620, and again in the 20 years to 2015.
It now describes its focus as the reduction of road trauma, which Nadine, as a family member and a traffic officer, has experienced first-hand.
She later learnt the car in which Darren was a passenger was unregistered and unroadworthy. “I never wanted another family to experience what our family did when Darren was killed,” she says.
“I’ve had many sliding doors moments where things could have ended differently for drivers. Every life taken on our roads is preventable. I know this with absolute certainty.”
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