Coroner recommends warning signs at flood tragedy crash site
A mother who died trying to save her children in a flood tragedy on the NSW north coast two years ago had no warning the road she drove on was dangerous due to council failures, an inquest into their deaths has found.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Father promises to build new life with daughter after tragedy
- Surviving daughter Chloe-May’s final moments in car
A mother who died trying to save her children in a flood tragedy on the NSW north coast two years ago had no warning the road she drove on was dangerous due to council failures, an inquest into their deaths has found.
The sole surviving child, Chloe-May, sat with her father Matt Kabealo as the coroner praised her extraordinary courage in escaping the sinking van and running one kilometre bleeding, barefoot and drenched to the nearest house screaming for help.
MORE NEWS:
Woman avoids jail after biting pub-goer’s face
Witness X revealed: Yael Stone named in Rush hearing
‘Disappointed’: Millionaire cops one year on fresh child sex charges
Acting State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan said the then nine-year-old “acted in a way that was brave and clever beyond her years.”
“What a survivor,” the coroner has said.
Mr Kabealo does not want to be seen as a victim, rather a survivor, Murwillumbah Court heard.
“And indeed he is, along with his exceptional daughter,” Ms O’Sullivan said on Friday.
The coroner found the overwhelmed and under-resourced Tweed Shire Council failed to close Dulguigan Rd despite significant risks days after ex-Cyclone Debbie caused record flooding in the area.
Several emergency and civilian cars arriving at the scene either skidded out uncontrollably or got bogged in the silt, a threat the coroner recommended the council actively look out for.
She also recommended the council consider erecting warning signs on the Tumbulgum road where the crash occurred alerting the public to the hazards posed by mud and silt following floods.
Chloe-May’s 43-year-old mum helped her out of the submerged car’s shattered window to safety, had unbuckled Ella-Jane’s seatbelt and tried to do the same for Jacob before she drowned, the court heard.
“(Ms King) was a wonderful, responsible mother … it was entirely reasonable she thought a road now clear of water and open to the public would be safe to drive on,” Ms O’Sullivan said. “It wasn’t.”
Tweed Shire Council should consider how to educate the community about a proposed policy change that a road should be flagged as closed until an obvious hazard is removed, the coroner said.
“The council has made a significant effort to address shortcoming in staff levels and procedures,” Ms O’Sullivan said. “More can and should be done to minimise the risk of another tragedy.”
The council should carry out a study to identify hazardous post-flood areas and find mitigation strategies, she said.
Ms O’Sullivan recommended the council’s flood spotter program be expanded further, recruiting more volunteers living in critical areas who are proactively contacted by the council for information during natural disasters, including potential mud hazards.
During the three-day inquest former Ambulance NSW deputy director of operations Wayne Mckenna criticised the fragmented, inconsistent and at times inaccurate safety information shared with the public on multiple apps during the deluge, stating there should be one official online source for state and local road closures.
In February the council launched an emergency dashboard on its website to help address this, boosted the number of workers trained to update it and installed 220 metres of guard rail on the river side of Dulguigan Road, including at the crash site.
The children’s heartbroken dad told police that Chloe-May remembers playing “I spy”’ with her family in the slow-moving car seconds before his “world collapsed.”
Kristelle Martin was one of the first people to see Chloe-May appear in her brother’s neighbouring driveway dripping wet, shaking, and terrified moments after the accident which occurred just before 1.40pm on April 3, 2017.
“I’ve got the little girl here, Chloe … she was in the car, she escaped through the window but she said her mother, her brother, and her sister are in the car,” Mrs Martin said in a triple-zero call.
“She made it just out of the window in time, she said, before she couldn’t breathe … just before the water took it over.”
Her husband Ryan Martin and her brother Ben Darcy raced down to the riverbank and jumped into the freezing water, frantically searching for the vanished car, court documents show.
“The water was so brown you couldn’t see anything,” Mr Darcy said in his police statement.
“It was so deep, I couldn’t get to the bottom.”
Local former police officer Matthew Grinham soon joined the two men, diving down relentlessly until they could no longer see bubbles rising to the murky surface.
Emergency services then took over with helicopters, swift water rescue divers, rubber duckies and sonar equipped boats but by 3.10pm they realised no-one could have survived and it shifted to a recovery operation.
An on-duty cop said he put his arm around his exhausted former colleague Mr Grinham as he sat soaking wet on the riverbank, telling him: “You’re the bravest bastard I know. You’ve done your best mate, you’ve done your best.”
Ms King’s brother John extended the family’s heartfelt gratitude to police, emergency workers and locals who “without hesitation risked their lives” trying to reach the trio — selfless acts which were also praised by the coroner.
“Through this we hope that some positive outcomes and structures can be put into place in order to prevent the pain and loss from happening to others,” Mr King said this week.
“Although they are lost forever they will never leave our hearts.”
Originally published as Coroner recommends warning signs at flood tragedy crash site
Jewish community hosts vigil to remember terror victims
An early morning vigil has been held at Bondi Beach on the anniversary of October 7 Hamas Terror attack in Israel. Members of the Jewish community, dignitaries, MPs and survivors were in attendance.
Fears October 7 anniversary could ignite unrest in Sydney
Fears of unrest in Sydney consume the first anniversary of Hamas’ terror attack, after pro-Palestinian protesters swarmed the CBD on Sunday, taking aim at state and federal politicians.