Bernice Prats identified as victim of fatal Bruce Hwy crash south of Innisfail, at Goolboo

An adventurous, retired grandmother who was planning a cruise to attend her son’s wedding has been identified as the victim of a fatal multi-vehicle highway crash south of Cairns.

A SPIRITED adventurer who experienced one of the most fulfilling retirements imaginable is being remembered as an independent and capable woman following her tragic death in a multi-vehicle crash.

Innisfail grandmother, Bernice Prats was killed on Tuesday when the trailer of a truck collided with her campervan on the Bruce Highway at Goolboo, south of Innisfail.

The Innisfail retiree was returning home from a local trip, albeit in her campervan, which spoke to her character as much as her outgoing nature.

The 80-year-old former teacher’s aide will leave behind a distraught family and large network of friends not only in the Far North, but across the country, many of whom she made on her recent solo journeys.

The van driven by Bernice Prats, who died in a multi-vehicle crash on the Bruce Highway at Goolboo, near Liverpool Creek, south of Innisfail. Picture: Arun Singh Mann

While Ms Prats had grown up on the Cassowary Coast, she had raised her family in Tasmania, where her two sons remained, while her daughter moved to Sydney.
She had married her high school sweetheart Laurie and later in life the couple had enjoyed their time together back in the Far North before Laurie sadly died from a heart attack about 15 years ago.

From there, Ms Prats’ journey was anything but that of an ordinary retiree whose active nature never slowed, according to family spokesman Ron Todd, whose late wife Nevis Todd was the niece of the “adventurer”.

Bernice Prats was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on the Bruce Hwy, at Goolboo, south of Innisfail. Pic: Kim Agli

“So she bought a campervan and began visiting various parts of Australia in that van,” Mr Todd said.

“Amazingly capable woman, and she recently found a place at Innisfail but before that she lived out of her campervan for quite a period of time while travelling.

“She could turn her hand at anything, and she’d have a go at anything. She lived a full life, she didn’t leave a stone unturned and if she wanted to do something, she did it.

“She was always doing something, or had something going on. Whether it was something in the community or catching up for lunch in Innisfail or the Tablelands.

“Her next big trip was going to be to Tasmania to her son’s wedding, and she had a cruise planned for early next year.”

Mr Todd said Ms Prats’ immediate family in North Queensland included her twin sister in Sarina, a brother in Biloela and another sister in Innisfail.

“Her circle of friends are in their 80s and something like this is a massive shock, you don’t expect this to happen. They’re quite shaken up by the whole thing and shocked.”

Originally published as Bernice Prats identified as victim of fatal Bruce Hwy crash south of Innisfail, at Goolboo