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Community in shock after spate of horror accidents and deaths

A mother and two men died in horror accidents near Gympie last week, which also left five people fighting for life in Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

It has been a week of devastating accidents in the Gympie, with two people killed, three fighting for life and the community in shock.
It has been a week of devastating accidents in the Gympie, with two people killed, three fighting for life and the community in shock.

A cluster of horrific car accidents in the Gympie region last week left many families and communities in shock and grief.

Despite earlier indications she was winning her fight for life, a 43-year-old woman critically injured in a Mary Valley collision on Tuesday, May 29, succumbed to her injuries days later.

The death of 64-year-old Thomas Holt on Thursday, June 1, when his tractor rolled at his Moreland Rd property was followed just hours later by the death of a 51-year-old Widgee man at the scene of a multi-vehicle crash at Glastonbury.

Queensland Police said that about 6.25pm, a ute travelling west on Glastonbury Rd collided with a four-wheel-drive travelling in the opposite direction. The four-wheel-drive left the roadway and stopped in a drain while the ute came to rest in the middle of the road. Another car stopped and the driver got out to help but was struck by a fourth vehicle.

The driver of the ute died at the scene as a result of his injuries.

The driver of the four-wheel drive, a 54-year-old Amamoor Creek man, and the woman who stopped to help, a 28-year-old Lagoon Pocket woman, were both taken to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the fourth car was taken to Gympie Hospital as a precaution.

Forensic Crash Unit investigators are appealing for any witnesses or motorists with dashcam vision to contact police

At almost the same time, on the Bruce Highway just south of Gympie, at Coles Creek, a crash involving six vehicles left two people fighting for life in the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and a teenager with less serious injuries taken to Gympie Hospital.

In a freakish series of events, a north-bound Suzuki driven by a man in his 20s hit a guard rail, spinning the car before it came to rest in the middle of the highway.

A Subaru stopped to help but when the woman got out of her car, both she and the driver of the Suzuki were hit by a third car, suffering critical injuries.

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Horrifically, three other cars have then collided with the Suzuki, which was still in the middle of the road.

Earlier on Thursday evening, the Bruce Hwy north of Gympie was blocked when a truck overturned near the Bells Bridge intersection with the Bruce Highway. Thankfully this crash had no injuries.

A woman remains in a serious but stable condition in SCUH following a head-on collision near Tuchekoi on Tuesday which left her with critical injuries. A man in the other car was taken to SCUH with a leg injury.

The thoughts and prayers of The Gympie Times team go out to all of those impacted. Stay safe.

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/gympie/community-in-shock-after-spate-of-horror-accidents-and-deaths/news-story/19edc54460f5a68c3ebc6d950a7f9cb9