Bruce Highway crash victim named, tragic details revealed

Police are begging family and friends of those stealing cars to ‘stage interventions’ after the tragic death of a 20-year-old in a horror Bruce Highway crash involving a prime mover.

Fatal crash victim Tiege Close, 20, died when the stolen vehicle he was driving collided with a B-Double on the Bruce Highway at Bloomsbury.

Police say the only “saving grace” in the “absolutely tragic” highway crash that claimed the life of a 20-year-old who was driving a stolen car was that “nobody else was injured”.

Detective Acting Inspector Chris Eaton said Bowen man Tiege Close was behind the wheel of a blue SUV that had been stolen from a Mount Pleasant home days earlier when it collided head on with a B-double truck on the Bruce Highway between Proserpine and Mackay about 6.05pm Wednesday.

The driver of the B-double, a 31-year-old man, was treated at the scene for shock and “is holding up as best as he can”.

Inspector Eaton said Mr Close was known to police but his criminal history was irrelevant and would not be disclosed out of respect to the man’s family.

Mr Close’s friends and loved ones are already paying tribute on social media with one writing “fly high T … forever be missed, so young rest easy”.

Inspector Eaton said the young man was pronounced dead at the scene where the “carnage” of the two-vehicle crash that closed both lanes of the highway at Bloomsbury for several hours.

Tiege Close, 20, died, when the stolen car he was driving collided with a B-double on the Bruce Highway at Bloomsbury about 6.05pm on February 1, 2023.

He said the blue ASX wagon had been stolen from Mount Pleasant during a burglary on January 31 and was one of a number of five to six vehicles taken across North Mackay and Andergrove, what he described as being an “unusual” spike in thefts.

“We know that that particular vehicle (in the crash) was fitted with stolen plates,” Inspector Eaton said.

“We’re conducting investigations to see if there are any links between the tragic crash that has occurred last night and those other stolen motor vehicles.”

Detective Acting Inspector Chris Eaton speaking about the death of Tiege Close on the Bruce Highway at Bloomsbury on February 1, 2023. Picture: Mitchell Dyer

He said the SUV was travelling south on the Bruce Highway before it crossed into the opposite lane and crashed head-on into the B-double travelling northbound. The collision occurred about two minutes north of the Bloomsbury service station.

“Tragically a young man has lost his life,” Inspector Eaton said.

‘PARENTS HAVE LOST THEIR CHILD’

“Brothers and sisters have lost their sibling and parents have lost their child.

“It’s absolutely tragic.

“The only saving grace is that nobody else was injured in the particular incident however that is of very little comfort to the family and their loved ones who have lost a 20-year-old child.”

A person has died in a two vehicle crash along the Bruce Highway at Bloomsbury on February 1, 2023. Picture: Heidi Petith

Inspector Eaton said the “most important thing” to remember following the crash was that the circumstances were “preventable”, and he urged family and friends who knew of people stealing cars to stage interventions.

‘STOLEN CAR CRASHES RIGHT ACROSS COUNTRY’

“It (stolen car crashes) is not a Mackay thing, it’s not a Queensland matter, it’s across the country,” he said.

“Stolen motor vehicles are more often than not taken by young men who take high performance vehicles; often alcohol and drugs are involved in their systems when they are driving these vehicles … sometimes it’s so obvious as to what is going to happen.

“Unfortunately last night (Wednesday) the absolutely worst case scenario has happened.”

Inspector Eaton said they will investigate whether drugs or alcohol played a role in Mr Close’s death.

Forensic Crash Unit officers are investigating and calling for anyone with dashcam footage travelling on the Bruce Highway between Bloomsbury and Mackay to contact police.

Inspector Eaton said there were other incidents in the Mackay region involving stolen cars on Wednesday including a person who fled a crash about 8am along Glenpark St in North Mackay to then steal a green Nissan Patrol on Moffatt St.

He said it was “pure good luck” that members of the public were unharmed and that it was “common sense” the incident may be related to the Bloomsbury fatal.

‘YOUR CAR IS GOING TO BE STOLEN’

He added it was not unusual for car thieves who were likely unlicensed and “hyped up” to target regional areas outside of their hometowns, with the days of hot-wiring long gone, replaced by easily-seen keys.

“The reality is if you go to bed at night time, and you leave your keys on the bench or on hooks, and your house is broken into, your car is going to be stolen,” Inspector Eaton said.

The Bruce Highway at Bloomsbury was closed in both direction following the crash. Picture: Heidi Petith

The incident is the second fatal crash for the Mackay District in 2023 after a 31-year-old Nebo man died when he lost control of his vehicle on the Peak Downs Highway on the night of January 16.

Multiple emergency service crews were called to the scene and motorists were last night unable to drive beyond the service station heading north on the highway for several hours.

After the initial emergency call, it took officers about 25 minutes to arrive to the crash because of the weather conditions.

A police social media post advised motorists that the highway was closed between Bloomsbury and O’Connell River with diversions in place via Kunapipi Rd.

“Please drive to the conditions and expect delays,” police tweeted.

Earlier a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman said they had one crew on scene shortly before 7pm with another one on its way.

Twenty-two people lost their lives in 20 traffic crashes in 2022, which is the worst year for road fatalities in five years.