Truck driver Brenden Giles’ widow Milly pleads for road safety to prevent ‘life sentence’ for family left behind

Milly Giles lost her beloved truck driver husband Brenden in a fatal smash. She wants drivers to take care and prevent the “hell on earth” she’s been through.

Milly Giles, wife of truck driver Brenden Giles who died on the road at Truro in a dust storm in 2019, at home with his portrait. Picture: Brenton Edwards

It’s been more than two years, but Milly Giles says she still feels that her husband must be on his way home soon.

Brenden Giles was the man who never let her open a door, who called her his “princess” and had trucking “in his blood”.

The veteran truck driver was on his way back to Adelaide from Sydney on August 8, 2019, when he was killed in a collision with another heavy vehicle on the Sturt Highway, near Truro.

The smash also killed the other truck driver, Coen Fraser, who was just days from his 27th birthday.

Coen was said to have swerved to avoid a car that had stopped in the middle of the highway during a dust storm.

“He was a real gentleman, and put everybody before himself,” Milly says of Brenden, who was 64 years old.

“He was a devoted grandpa and loved his children. I always tell people they need to tell each other they love each other, because you never know when it’s the last time you’re going to see them.”

In the Giles’ northern suburbs home, evidence of Milly and Brenden’s love for each other is everywhere.

A banner bearing Brenden’s photo is strung from the loungeroom curtain rod – the same banner that was attached to a truck in a convoy not long after his death, honouring the men and women drivers who’ve died on the job.

A series of photo albums and scrapbooks document the couple’s happiest times, such as their holidays and family gatherings, and what must have been dark days, when she collected news clippings about Brenden’s accident.

Coping with her soulmate’s death hasn’t become much easier over time, Milly says, pointing out that things like sad songs playing in shops often bring her to tears.

Brenden and Milly Giles – happy memories are all around their house.

Truck driver Brenden Giles – his widow, Milly, says she still expects him to walk in the door.

“It’s getting harder because my brain is slowly accepting that he’s not coming back, and there’s this emptiness,” she said.

Brenden’s death came less than two years after Milly lost her son Christopher, 30, who died suddenly from blood clot in his lung.

Milly says her husband was the most careful of drivers, always scanning the road 10, 15, 20 cars ahead and constantly watching what was happening around him.

The statistics tell that story, too. SA Road Transport Association executive officer Steve Shearer said national insurance data showed in 80 per cent of smashes involving cars and heavy vehicles, motorists, rather than truck drivers, were at fault.

“Truck drivers hate this time of year because they know there will be a lot of casual car drivers – they’re used to driving around the city and not on open roads,” he said.

The scene of the fatal truck crash 6km outside Truro. Picture: Tom Huntley

A national campaign to reduce risky behaviour on the roads is urging motorists to think of their family members – and other road users – when they drive this festive season.

People tailgating trucks, overtaking before a bend and pulling in front of heavy vehicles without leaving a safe distance are among the hazards drivers regularly endure, Lyndal Denny says.

The Women in Trucking Australia chief executive, based in Adelaide, said her organisation’s “Will you be next?” campaign, featuring TV and web advertisements, would educate motorists on how to safely share the road with truck drivers.

She said this was particularly important during the holiday season, when roads were busier and amid the pandemic, because people may have spent less time on country roads recently.

Ms Denny said truck drivers regularly dealt with near-misses and risky driver behaviour or, worse, were left with post-traumatic stress disorder after being involved in serious accidents.

“I had a woman pull in front of me and all I could see when I’m trying to find the brakes is two small children in the back of her car,” she said.

“A lot of people still think trucks are slow and we have to be overtaken at any cost, but we’re not slow anymore. Trucks are powerful 21st century vehicles and they can keep up with the traffic.”

Mr Shearer urged people not to take risks on the road “because you’re risking your life for the sake of gaining a few seconds or minutes in your journey and it’s just not worth it”.

Milly Giles is still mourning the love of her life, Brenden Giles who died on the road at Truro in a dust storm in 2019.

Milly Giles wants to avoid putting others through the “hell on earth” she has experienced losing her partner.

“It’s those that are left behind that suffer,” she says.

“It’s not just the person you hit. You’re not just killing one person, you’re killing an entire family – it’s a life sentence.”

But, she says, she is lucky to have her Christian faith, which has brought her comfort amid the grief.

“I know I’ll see him again one day, and that keeps me going.”

Originally published as Truck driver Brenden Giles’ widow Milly pleads for road safety to prevent ‘life sentence’ for family left behind