Homeowner wants to cut down tribute to woman killed in tragic crash in the Gold Coast’s west

A GOLD Coast man is threatening to tear down a memorial dedicated to a woman who was killed in a crash out the front of his house this month.

A TALLAI man is threatening to remove a temporary memorial dedicated to a woman killed in a crash in front of his house this month.

The 57-year-old woman died and a man was left critically injured in the accident on The Panorama on the evening of July 9.

The homeowner wants the ‘ugly’ shrine taken off his property. Picture Mike Batterham

The Panorama resident, who the Bulletin has chosen not to name, said he fumed when he saw locals had built a shrine of flowers to the woman around a tree on his property.

“It’s a pile of (expletive) bullshit,” he said.

“It’s on our property, no one asked us if they could put it there and they just shoved this (expletive) memorial in our front yard and we’re (expletive) off about it. It’s ugly and it’s disrespectful and it’s not going to bring the person back.”

The memorial includes floral tributes and a child’s drawing.

The homeowner doesn’t want the memorial on his property and is threatening to tear the trees down. Picture Mike Batterham

The landholder hoped the memorial had given the woman’s family some comfort but said he would cut down the shrine this week as well as a neighbouring tree he feared could be used as the base for subsequent memorials.

“We’re going to cut that tree down and cut the other one down so they’ve got nothing left of it,” he said.

“We’ll let them have it (the funeral) … (then) all that stuff goes. People just keep putting shit there in our front yard … it’s nonsense.

A woman died in the car accident last week in Tallai. Picture: Mike Batterham

“It (the wreckage) ended up in the street. It didn’t end up in that area.

“I’ve kept out of it because I just would have blown my lid but my wife spoke to them and said we’ll let you have it until the funeral and after the funeral will pull it down.”

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said the Forensic Crash Unit was still investigating the crash.

Police are expected to provide a report to the coroner in coming months.

The shrine includes flowers and children’s drawings. Picture: Mike Batterham

Garry Church thinks the landowner could take the tributes away after six or 12 months. Picture Mike Batterham

Road Trauma Services Queensland president and ex-police officer Garry Church said while there was an argument to suggest some tributes distract drivers, he thought there was a much better answer than simply removing the memorial.

He said he thought the landowner could speak to the family and friends of the woman and suggest taking down the tribute in six or 12 months.

“I think it’s a little disturbing that he’s thinking that way,” Mr Church said.

“They (families of crash victims) treat it as ‘That’s their last place of being on this earth’. It means a lot to them.

“It’s the last-known spot on earth where their loved ones were still alive. To just pull it down like that I think is pretty callous.”