Bailey Pini death: Family left in dark over Bowen car crash

The family of a Bowen teenager who allegedly stole and fatally crashed a car while in state care earlier this year say they are still completely in the dark about the circumstances leading up to the tragedy.

The family of a Bowen teenager who allegedly stole and fatally crashed a car while in state care earlier this year say they are still completely in the dark about the circumstances leading up to the tragedy.

It has been three months since 13-year-old Bailey Pini and another boy living in a government-run group home at Sarina allegedly stole their carer’s car and drove it to Bailey’s home town of Bowen.

It was there the car crashed and burst into flames, killing Bailey and sending the other boy to hospital.

Bailey’s sister Troydon Pini, 30, said the family had since been able to ask the coroner any questions they had about Bailey’s final moments.

But it was the beginning of the tragic chain of events they still had no clarity on.

Bailey Pini, far right, with his brother Kalib Pini, brother-in-law Luke Jackson, sister Troydon Pini, and brother Jerricho Pini on Troydon’s wedding day. Picture: Supplied

There had been one phone call, Troydon said, from the department about two months ago.

But communications broke down as soon as Troydon began asking for an explanation as to how Bailey and the other boy got their hands on car keys.

“The second I mentioned that, she just shut down,” Troydon said of the woman on the other end of the line.

“She didn’t want to talk to me anymore, she just said she didn’t know, she didn’t have those answers for me.”

Bailey Pini with his late mother Sonia Pini, who died after a brief battle with cervical cancer in July, 2020. Picture: Supplied

Troydon said there had been no further contact from anyone representing the Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs Department since then, and she did not hold out much hope there would be.

The family was now looking into their legal options as an alternative avenue to ensuring what happened to Bailey never happened to another child in state care.

But going up against the resources of a government department is a task Troydon has had difficulty convincing anyone to take on.

“I have phoned around, but no one wants to take the case, it’s like it’s above their pay grade,” she said.

Bailey's siblings Troydon, Jerricho and Kalib Pini organised a memorial for the crash site. Picture: Kirra Grimes

Apart from driving positive change for children in the residential care system, Troydon said all the Pini family wanted was to bring an end to the guessing game they were constantly engaged in.

“We sit around wondering, maybe this happened, maybe that happened but we know nothing, we don’t understand how he’s ended up where he ended up,” she said.

“It doesn’t change the outcome, but at least it would stop us questioning.”

The family buried Bailey at Bowen Cemetery on July 3, alongside his late mother Sonia Pini.

Troydon said Bailey’s carer and the 14-year-old boy that survived the car crash asked her if they could attend the ceremony.

She said no to the carer but yes to the boy, but could not be sure if he was there among the large crowd on the day.

It was a day emotions spilt over for many of the family, after waiting several weeks for Bailey’s remains to return from the coroner.

“I’d been a bit worried about my kids because they hadn’t shown much emotion, but they had their moment at the funeral,” Troydon, a mother of four, said.

“They saw him almost like a brother – they grew up pretty much in the same household,” she said of her children.

Bailey Pini‘s brother Jerricho, sister Troydon, cousin Natasha, aunty Donna, and niece Renezmay. Picture: Kirra Grimes

She said the family had been coping relatively OK since then, but she personally was “really pissed off” at the response from those caring for Bailey at the time of his death.

“I’m of the understanding that ‘Child Safety’ has its name for a reason – children are supposed to be safe,” she said.

“When something like this happens, they should have more than enough answers, but we’ve had none.”

A Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs Department spokeswoman said the department could not comment on individual cases for privacy reasons but said whenever a child known to child protection died or suffered serious injury, a “rigorous” two-tier review process took place to make sure the matter was thoroughly investigated.

“This includes a confidential internal review by the department within six months, and an external examination by the Queensland Family and Child Commission’s Child Death Review Board,” the spokeswoman said.

The department required all funded service providers, which includes residential care providers, to deliver services that comply with legislative and contract requirements, and “routinely” offers supports, services and referrals to grieving family members in tragic incidents such as the death of a child, the spokeswoman said.

The Coroners Court of Queensland has confirmed the Northern Coroner, Magistrate Nerida Wilson, is investigating Bailey’s death.

A spokesman said the investigation was in its early stages and the coroner was waiting on all available information before determining the course and scope of the investigation, such as whether it would look at other deaths or issues within the residential care system.

“This remains an open investigation and we will advise further when all information is to hand,” the spokesman said.

“Any comment about the scope of any inquest or investigation is premature.”