Fatalities impact on us as well

Reporting on the fatal crash at Curra two weeks ago was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

Crash investigators arrive on the scene of a fatal motorbike crash at Kybong on Tuesday night. Picture: Frances Klein

REPORTING on the fatal crash at Curra two weeks ago was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

The sickness I felt when I received the alert saying two people were dead was palpable.

As I drove to the scene, I hoped against the horrible certainty of the situation - that somehow the facts were wrong and the victims would pull through.

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When I heard the two young men involved were not much older than me, I was gripped by alternating senses of unreality, helplessness and overwhelming grief.

Two bright young lives, snuffed out in mere moments.

TERRIBLE LOSS: Bryce Brunjes-Kilshaw was one of two local men tragically killed in a single-vehicle crash at Curra last month. Picture: Facebook

Gympie man Sam Bourke was tragically killed in a single-vehicle crash at Curra last month. Picture: Facebook

I have struggled with the injustice of that night ever since, but I've also struggled with some of the comments directed at myself and The Gympie Times for our coverage.

To be called "disgusting” and branded a "vulture” remains difficult for me to process.

Suggestions that we as a company didn't care about the families involved is totally unfair.

We don't want to have to report on these tragedies.

We do care about honouring the victims, and I will always do my very best to respect their families and loved ones as they mourn.

As Arthur Gorrie recently wrote, we report on all fatal crashes because people matter.

It is never easy to hear about road trauma, and my experience at Curra made it no easier for me to hear about the young woman who lost her life at Kybong on Tuesday night.

My thoughts are with everyone who has experienced loss on the road.