Family and friends gather to pay tribute to Gold Coast rider Joshua Mowat who died after his motorbike collided with a truck
The shattered parents of Joshua Mowat who died after his motorbike crashed into a truck on the Gold Coast say the tragedy was a “terrible accident with the worst possible outcome”.
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THE shattered parents of Joshua Mowat who died after his motorbike hit a truck on the Gold Coast say the tragedy was a “terrible accident with the worst possible outcome”.
Bruce and Linda Mowat said there were no words to describe their loss and were now part of a club no parent wanted to be in.
Joshua, 26, was riding along Nerang Murwillumbah Rd at Advancetown last Sunday morning when his motorbike and a small truck collided.
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Mr Mowat said he had a “gut wrenching” feeling when heard and “felt” the accident that tragically killed his son.
“I was sitting in the ambulance, more cops were turning up and then all the rescue trucks turned up, and what broke my heart was that I knew it had gone from a rescue to a recovery,” Mr Mowat said.
“But what broke my heart the most, and I cracked, I said to my mate Bernie … how am I going to ring Linda?
“Linda is so thankful I held his hand coming into the world, and as horrible as it is, I held his hand when he left the world.
“We’re not supposed to outlive our children.”
The Mowats were joined by family and friends on Saturday where they gathered at Iron and Resin Garage at Currumbin to celebrate Joshua’s life.
Mr Mowat said he felt incredibly blessed to have spent the past year working with Joshua in the family-owned business The Galleon Takeaway.
He said Joshua was between jobs and offered to help in the business during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Joshua was a wonderful, beautiful soul that brought happiness to anyone who met him,” Mr Mowat said.
“The other day one of my regular customers … she texted me, ‘How can I tell Henry he can’t play fish, chips and calamari with Josh?’
“That’s how powerful my son was. He made babies smile. We can’t all do that.”
Joshua’s older brother Scott Mowat said Joshua made a mistake and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
“Any person who rides bikes, drives cars, rides bicycles, any activity that has some sort of risk associated with it, we’ve all had those moments where we almost stack it and afterwards we have a beer and go, ‘Well, I’m never going to do that again’.
“Josh hasn’t had that opportunity. He never got to learn from it and that’s the saddest thing.
His sister Sammy Mowat said: “Joshua was the brightest light in my life and my eyes will never adjust to life without him.”
Mr Mowat said forensic police had closed the investigation into Joshua’s crash because it was a “horrible” accident.
“Speed wasn’t involved, drugs or alcohol wasn’t involved, it was just a horrible accident,” he said.
“We’ve all been out to the site and we’ve all come to the same conclusion. It doesn’t help the way we feel, it doesn’t make it any better, you seriously look for something to blame, but you can’t.
“It was just a terrible accident with the worst outcome.”
Tributes flow for ‘kind-hearted’ young bike rider
A YOUNG rider who died after his motorbike crashed into a truck on the Gold Coast has been remembered as a “kind-hearted” man who “always knew how to put a smile on everyone’s face”.
Tributes have flowed on social media for 26-year-old Tallai man Joshua Mowat.
It has emerged Mr Mowat tragically died in front of his father, who was riding ahead of him.
Mr Mowat was travelling along notorious Nerang Murwillumbah Rd at Advancetown about 9.50am yesterday when his motorbike and a small truck collided.
He sadly died at the scene – on the same road four teens died in a horror smash on July 25.
Among an outpouring of grief from friends on Facebook, one woman wrote: “Rest in peace. You were such an amazing kind hearted person you always knew how to put a smile on everyone’s face.”
“We will miss you Josh,” she said.
Friends described Mr Mowat as a “bright and wholesome guy” and a loyal mate.
“Rest in peace buddy. Ride on over the clouds,” one man wrote.
Mr Mowat’s death came on the same day a 54-year-old motorcyclist died in a fatal crash at Norwell and a third man was thrown from his bike and lost a leg at Arundel.
Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler said 19 people had died on city roads in the past year – nine more than last year.
“ … these are needless, these crashes. The loss of life we saw yesterday is simply unacceptable. The loss of life we have seen this year is unacceptable,” he said.
“What I would urge people to do is drive to the speed limit, know your capabilities and know what your limits are …
“This death is happening on a terrible scale. The numbers of families, friends, community itself – the loss of life is just unacceptable.
“The frustrating thing is most of these crashes are avoidable … it was a terrible day yesterday. In a seven hour period we lost two lives and we have another man who has lost his leg, so his life will never be the same.”
Speaking about Nerang Murwillumbah Rd, Supt Wheeler said: “In terms of that stretch of road, we have stepped up patrols in that area but the reality is this: we could have a police officer every 100m on that stretch of road and that would not always prevent these tragic incidents from occurring.”
The Queensland Police Forensic Crash Unit is investigating all incidents from the weekend.
Originally published as Family and friends gather to pay tribute to Gold Coast rider Joshua Mowat who died after his motorbike collided with a truck
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