Hannah Clarke used final moments of her life to ensure Rowan Baxter would not go unpunished if he lived

In an astonishing act of bravery and strength, Hannah Clarke used the final moments of her life to ensure her killer would not go unpunished if he lived.

Seasoned first responders were astonished by Hannah Clarke’s bravery and strength as she used the final moments of her life to fight through the pain of unsurvivable burns to ensure her killer would not go unpunished if he lived.

Firefighters revealed the deadly blaze was so ferocious that by the time the emergency bells reached their station, it was already too late for Hannah’s children Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey who were trapped in the back seat of the burning car.

Hannah and her three children were killed in February 2020 when Rowan Baxter ambushed his estranged wife at Camp Hill, jumping into the car, dousing his family in petrol and setting them alight in a sickening attack.

Senior Constable Angus Skaines on Tuesday gave evidence to the Brisbane Coroners Court that on the morning of the Clarke family murders, he had been driving to Morningside when a call came through tasking him to the crime scene at Camp Hill.

Hannah Clarke and her children Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey.

When he arrived on scene shortly after 8.30am, he activated his body worn camera and went to talk to Hannah who was being hosed down with water by a nurse.

“I had a conversation with Hannah, she was obviously significantly burnt, in a lot of pain,” he said.

“(She was) incredibly brave, she was able to tell me a lot of detail in regards to what happened.”

Sen Const Skaines said in his experience, people at far less distressing crime scenes struggled to provide basic details but Hannah was able to give specific information including dates of birth and spellings of names despite her pain.

“At a normal job even, people are so worked up they can’t get those details out,” he said.

“It was just amazing the things she was able to tell me and how much she was able to help us start piecing together what happened.”

Sen Const Skaines said Hannah told him what Baxter had said to her after getting into her car.

“She had just hopped in the car to go to school … she turned the car on and he’s jumped in the passenger seat,” he said.

“He said, ‘I wanted to see my children’. And she said, ‘no, get out, get out’.

“Rowan’s told her to drive. He had a jerry can in his hand.”

Sen Const Skaines said Hannah told him she had a domestic violence order in place and that Baxter had tried to break her wrist during an incident two weeks earlier.

Senior Constable Angus Skaines gave evidence at the inquest into the death of Hannah Clarke and her three children. Picture: Sarah Marshall

He said the last time he saw Hannah was when she was in the back of the ambulance when a paramedic asked her if the morphine was helping her pain and she said “no”.

Sen Const Skaines said Hannah was able to answer his questions “amazingly” despite it being clear she was suffering more and more as the minutes went on.

Deputy State Coroner Jane Bentley praised Sen Const Skaines and how he handled the tragic situation.

“Officer Skaines I’ve watched the body worn camera footage that was taken on that day and your professionalism and level headedness in the face of those horrific circumstances was commendable,” she said.

“Obviously if Baxter had lived, the evidence that you obtained from Hannah on that morning would have been indispensable in relation to the prosecution of him.”

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services station officer Anthony Eggins, a firefighter with 30 years’ experience, was based at Camp Hill on the morning of the attack and told the inquest his crew was tasked to attend a car fire where they were told there were children in the car.

He said in his experience, after seeing the flames, he knew anyone inside had “no chance” of survival.

“Having been at the scene and again with hindsight, when the bells got to the station there was no help for them,” Mr Eggins said.

“(There were) flames coming out every window, so the heat had caused every window to break.”

Dr Stephen Rashford. Picture: Sarah Marshall

QAS medical director Dr Stephen Rashford, who treated both Hannah and Baxter at the Camp Hill scene, gave evidence only three per cent of Hannah’s skin was not affected by burns.

“I felt the priority was to anaesthetise her very early to take away any distress and pain,” he said.

Dr Rashford said while he knew Hannah could not survive her injuries, he tried to reassure her she would be okay.

“We reassured her as much as we could and wanted to basically say we would take any pain away and that we hoped she would wake up in hospital and be in a better place,” he said.

“That’s always a very difficult conversation to have with anyone.

“I found her to be incredibly courageous.”

The horrific scene in Raven St, Camp Hill. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Paramedic Stephanie Ring told the court she was driving home from a 13-hour shift when she noticed smoke coming from Raven Street in Camp Hill.

When she turned onto the street, she saw Hannah’s car “completely engulfed” in flames and she stopped and went to the injured mother’s aid.

“She basically said … ‘my (ex) partner, he poured fuel all over the car. He’s thrown a lighter in the car’,” Ms Ring said.

“And then she just kept yelling and crying, ‘my babies are in the car, my children are in the car, why didn’t I just stay in the car with them’?”

Ms Ring said when she first arrived on scene, she also saw Baxter covered in flames on the other side of the burning car.

“It appeared he was trying to put the flames out by rolling on the ground,” she said.

“I assumed he was trying to put flames out because he was quite obviously alight at the time.”

The inquest continues.