Bowenville crash: Darling Downs firey Paula Douglas talks of ‘psychological impact’ of fatal crashes on emergency crews

A Darling Downs firey has praised the efforts of first responders after they attended a shocking fatal crash along the Warrego Highway in Bowenville.

FIRST RESPONDERS: Queensland Fire and Emergency Service's Paula Douglas at the scene of a horrific fatal crash in Bowenville on June 18. Picture: Sam Turner

A Darling Downs firey has told of the psychological impacts a fatal crash can have on first responders, after crews attended the scene of a serious car and truck collision in Bowenville.

Emergency services rushed to the reported two vehicle smash along the Warrego Highway near Newton Stephen Road about 8.30am Friday morning.

Western Downs woman Brooke Holder was travelling as a passenger in the Holden Commodore when the car she was in collided with a truck.

The driver, a 35-year-old man, sustained serious injuries to his arms and legs, and was flown to the PA Hospital by LifeFlight in a critical condition.

Ms Holder was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene.

Speaking at the scene of the incident, Queensland Fire and Emergency Service’s Paula Douglas said psychologically, it was “always tough” for all services involved in fatal crashes, especially for first responders.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Service's Paula Douglas in Bowenville on June 18. Picture: Sam Turner

“Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as an easy job for us, and these ones in particular where someone has lost their life can be quite difficult for our crews to deal with,” Ms Douglas said.

“But we are trained to react to these types of incidents, and all crews have done a great job to get the (driver) out of the car.”

Ms Douglas said crews worked quickly with hydraulic cutting equipment to extract the 35-year-old man from the vehicle, before they placed him in the hands of paramedics and LifeFlight.

She said Ms Holder was sadly deceased before fire crews were able to make an extraction.

Emergency services rushed to the car and truck collision along the Warrego Highway in Bowenville on June 18. Picture: Sam Turner

Ms Douglas said the truck driver was extremely lucky during the incident, and cited the effect Friday’s crash would’ve had on the 35-year-old.

“The truck driver is suffering quite greatly from this type of incident, as it’s not an easy thing to be involved in these crashes,” she said.

“He was very lucky to be able keep that vehicle upright, and off the highway.

“He did a very good job in such challenging conditions.”

With Queensland’s road toll continuing to rise, Ms Douglas wanted to stress to the importance of road users driving to the conditions.

“We want to remind everybody to be vigilant on our roads, and to take care of yourselves while you’re out there,” she said.

The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating, and has appealed for any witnesses to the crash, or anyone with dashcam footage of either vehicle before the crash, to contact police.