Woman dies in freak crash at Pacific Fair car park

A DEVASTATED delivery driver has told of the moment a woman stopped breathing after a freak accident at a boom gate in a Gold Coast shopping centre car park.

Emergency services at the scene of the Pacific Fair fatal crash. Pic: Glenn Hampson

A DEVASTATED delivery driver has told of the moment a 61-year-old woman stopped breathing after a freak accident at a boom gate in a Gold Coast shopping centre car park Wednesday afternoon.

Foti Afantenos was in a car park at Pacific Fair in Broadbeach about 2pm when the accident happened.

“I saw her jumping out of her car after she hit the boom gates, she wasn’t moving, just lying there,” he said.

Mr Afantenos was one of four witnesses who rushed to the woman’s aid after the tragic crash.

It is believed the Gold Coast woman, having trouble with her parking ticket, opened her car door to lean out and accidentally accelerated into the boom gate.

The woman fell out of her car on impact, suffering serious head injuries and a cardiac arrest paramedics say was a result of the trauma.

Mr Afantenos said the group worked to save her life, but felt the last beat of her pulse just minutes before the first ambulance arrived.

“I didn’t perform CPR as she had a pulse and (was) slightly breathing,” he said.

“We lost her pulse a few minutes before the paramedics arrived. We did the best we could, it is so sad, I give my condolences to her family.”

A group of bystanders helped the woman but lost her pulse just minutes before emergency services arrived. Pic: Glenn Hampson

Critical care paramedic Jae Newton said paramedics worked to save the woman for some time.

A Pacific Fair spokeswoman said last night that an investigation was under way and “the area in which this incident occurred remains closed, while we continue to assist police and all relevant authorities”.

A Worksafe Health and Safety Queensland spokesman said an inspector had been sent to Pacific Fair to ­investigate alongside police.

Police were last night still attempting to contact the woman’s next of kin.

The tragedy follows public outcry over the introduction of paid parking at Pacific Fair as part of a $670 million facelift. The centre’s owners, funds management giant AMP, launched paid parking in June in a bid to stop light rail commuters parking at the centre. Many shoppers have complained of faults with the paid parking system, including difficulties using ticket machines.