Pedestrian dies in Caringbah truck accident
THE partner of pedestrian Danielle McGrath, killed when a truck allegedly ran a red light, was stuck in the traffic jam caused by her death and was frantically trying to call her after an eerie premonition.
NSW
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THE partner of a female pedestrian killed when a truck driver allegedly ran a red light was stuck in the traffic jam caused by her death and was frantically trying to call her after an eerie premonition.
Danielle McGrath, 26, was hit on The Kingsway at Caringbah at 7.30am yesterday. Her partner Aaron Roberts was sitting in the congestion caused by the crash and tried to call her mobile phone.
When she did not answer he sprinted to the front of the traffic queue to find her handbag strewn across the road and her body covered by a sheet.
Less than 20 minutes earlier the Illawong woman had been walking along her normal route to Caringbah train station.
Police said Ms McGrath was crossing the road with a green pedestrian signal when she was hit.
The truck driver, 59, also from Illawong, was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death. He was granted police bail to appear in court next month.
“He (the partner) was stuck in the traffic and tried to call her mobile but when she didn’t answer he left his car and ran to the scene,” a shop owner said.
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“It would have been horrible for him to see her lying there on the road, and I think he recognised it was her when he spotted her handbag lying on the road.”
A group for close family and friends gathered at the McGrath family home in Illawong yesterday evening to remember a young woman who was well known in the community.
About 25 people sat in a circle in the garage swapping stories and consoling each other over a drink, remembering better times spent with the mad Sharks fan.
Alan Rojas, a truck driver who witnessed the crash, said he saw the driver burst into tears.
“I ran to the woman’s aid, but there was nothing anyone could do. It must have been almost instantaneous. I saw the woman on the road, and no-one was helping, but when I got closer I realised there was nothing I could do,” Mr Rojas said.
“I saw the driver get out and he just started crying. I just looked at the driver, and shook my head.
“We’re on the road all the time with work, so we see lots of accidents and things, and we know CPR and first aid, but when I approached the body there was nothing to be done.”
Friends took to Facebook to express their grief. Michelle Ramsay said her childhood friend was “So little in size, but so big in her heart”.
“Sometimes we are lucky enough to meet someone who will change our life forever. For me, I was lucky enough to meet someone who was to change my life forever when I was four. A person who would fill my heart with so much laughter and happiness and who always thought me to see the brighter side of any situation,” she posted.
“I still remember being hand-in-hand walking through Illawong primary school and looking at our shadows on the pavement. Me a giant, and her half the size. I still remember asking her if she was the size of a barbie when she was born because she was so little. So little in size, but so big in her heart.
“Danielle McGrath there is not a single person I know who can say a bad word about you. There are broken hearts everywhere tonight and these hearts will probably never heal.
The world is poorer without you in it. I’m still trying to comprehend what a world without you will be like but I know your spirit will be alive forever.
Little D- you will be missed.”
Ms McGrath was the 61st pedestrian death this year — nine more than the same time last year. The fatality takes NSW’s 2016 road toll to 334, 34 more than this time last year.
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