Chinchilla crash: Two teenagers injured, one remains critical, after horror Wambo St crash
The resident of a home struck by an out-of-control car carrying three Chinchilla teenagers has revealed just how close the terrifying incident came to being an even bigger tragedy. All the latest details:
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A 16-year-old girl is fighting for life in hospital following a horror crash in Chinchilla earlier this week.
The teenager was critically injured when a Toyota LandCruiser that she was a passenger in crashed through a fence and into a house on Wambo St about 8.40pm Tuesday.
She was flown to Brisbane Princess Alexandra Hospital with a serious head injury and remains in the Intensive Care Unit in a critical condition.
A second 16-year-old girl was taken to Toowoomba Hospital with a serious facial laceration.
A Darling Downs Health spokeswoman has confirmed she is now in a stable condition.
The 18-year-old Chinchilla man who was driving was uninjured. No charges have been laid.
Both girls are students at Chinchilla State High School, where a Department of Education spokesman said the girls’ peers have been offered counselling and assistance.
A neighbour who witnessed the aftermath of the crash said the driver of the car appeared to be in shock at the scene.
“The boy driving the car got her out and put (one of the girls) in the recovery position, he couldn’t get the other girl out of the car,” she said.
“I called triple-0 straight away and stayed with (her) the whole time.
“This is a terrible thing that should never have happened. It‘s tragic.
“They’re just kids.”
Another neighbour said she heard the loud screeching of “metal on metal” as the car came to a stop in front of her house.
“The air conditioner stopped it. Any further and it would’ve got the house,” she said.
“I attended to the boy, who really tried to help, while my daughter was helping one of the girls until paramedics got there.
“My kids live around the corner and I called them to help, my daughter knows first aid was helping the girl who was stuck in the car.”
Queensland Police have urged anyone travelling near Wambo Street between 8pm and 9pm on Tuesday night and who may have witnessed the crash or seen a grey Toyota Landcruiser and light coloured Landcruiser Prado in the moments before, to come forward.
Western Downs Mayor Paul McVeigh said tragic crashes involving young people always weighed heavily on the community.
“I wish them a speedy recovery from what sounds like significant injuries,” he said.
“Situations like this always impact the community. These are young people who are members of local families and loved by people in the community.
“We certainly hope to avoid tragedies like this in the community, but when they do happen, I know the Western Downs is a caring community that will certainly be trying to support both the families and young people as well.”
Cr McVeigh urged people to drive safely, with the region still recovering from multiple major flooding disasters that have destroyed roads.
He said a shortage of contractors was making recovery even more difficult and prolonged.
“This is going to be a long period where we'll see a large number of roads with some safety issues,” he said.
“We're certainly asking our community to be patient. I know it’s going to be very hard because the harvest will be back in full swing in the next week or so, with grain, cotton, and cattle movements putting a lot of pressure on our damaged roads.
“We've probably got millions and millions of dollars worth of damage to our road network and it will take some time.”
Investigations by the Forensic Crash Unit are ongoing, and anyone with information can phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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