Nine killed: Mother’s Day weekend ends in tears for families
Nine people lost their lives on Queensland roads at the weekend, prompting urgent pleas from officials for road users to take care.
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Nine people lost their lives on Queensland roads at the weekend, prompting urgent pleas from officials for road users to take care.
During the 72-hour period from Friday to Sunday, nine people died in horror crashes across the state, including 22-year-old Vaea Taavale and 30-year-old Anthony Cooper, who were killed in a head-on collision in Springfield on Sunday.
Tragically, a tenth person – a man in his 30s – died on Monday afternoon in Heathwood in Brisbane’s southwest, after his vehicle hit a pole at the intersection of Johnson and Stapylton roads.
Sunday’s early morning crash on the Centenary Highway, southwest of Brisbane, involved three vehicles and left a third man and two women in a critical condition.
Hours earlier, motorcyclist Jacob Betts was killed when his bike and a car collided in Mackay, while just an hour later Jordan Blanch was killed in a tragic hit-and-run, also in the Mackay region.
The crashes remain under investigation by Queensland Police.
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey has renewed calls for safe driving following the deadly weekend on the state’s roads.
“I cannot stress the importance of doing the right thing when you are behind the wheel because the consequences can be deadly,” he said.
“Instead of celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend, nine families were missing loved ones from around the dinner table,” he said.
Mr Bailey said 13 people had lost their lives since the beginning of the month.
He said the fatal five factors – speeding, drink and drug-driving, fatigue, mobile phone use and seatbelts – were often contributing factors in fatal crashes.
“Sadly, most of the lives lost are entirely preventable and I urge people to think about that every time they get behind the wheel,” Mr Bailey said.
As of Monday afternoon, 108 people had died on Queensland roads in 2022.
This year’s number of road-related deaths is higher than the same time last year when 96 lives were claimed as a result of road crashes.
Alarmingly, the number of deaths is up by 50 per cent on five years ago, when the state recorded 72 fatalities up until May 8.
Mr Bailey said that Queensland could not continue on the deadly trajectory.
The Palaszczuk government had invested $1.7bn into road safety this budget, he said.
“We’re investing in education campaigns, road upgrades or new technologies,” Mr Bailey said.
“Now it’s your turn to play a part and do the right thing every time you’re on the road.”
With a major deluge forecast to inundate large parts of the state from Tuesday and the rest of week, Queenslanders were urged to drive to the conditions and were reminded to never drive through floodwaters.
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