Horror weekend on Qld roads as accidents claim 10 lives
Every one of the crashes that claimed the lives of 10 people on Queensland roads over the long weekend had human interaction that could have been avoided, police say, as some of the victims have been identified.
QLD News
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Ten people have been killed in a horror weekend on Queensland roads, with the state’s top traffic cop labelling it one of the “worst” in recent times.
Since Thursday night, 19-year-old Cale Gilbert-Hall from the Mary Valley, 52-year-old Stuart Wishart of Hervey Bay, 21-year-old man, 73-year-old man, a woman in her 30s and five men in their 30s died in separate crashes.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Chris Stream said all the crashes have a massive impact on the wider community.
“We have families that are now grieving, friends that are now grieving and also a wider impact on the enforcement community as well as those first responders,” he said.
About 217 people have lost their lives on Queensland roads, compared to 222 in the same time period last year.
Mr Stream said every crash over the long weekend had human interaction that could have been avoided.
“Every single one of those 10 deaths has had a human contribution towards it,” he said.
“Police will allege it involves speeding, not wearing your seatbelts, distraction, fatigue and also drug and alcohol.
“This is 2023 It is such an easy thing to do to slide that belt across and put that on.”
Over a two-week period Queensland Police conducted a safety campaign Operation Spring Break which began on September 16.
During that period, there were 15 fatal crashes which resulted in 17 lives lost. The safety operation had an increased police presence on the roads.
“We’ve conducted more than 47,000 RBTs across the operation but we have charged more than 600 idiots and I use that term not lightly,” Mr Stream said.
“People that have gone out there and put their own concern for simply completing a trip over the safety of others.
There were 47,870 roadside breath tests done and 2435 Roadside Drug Tests conducted – 623 were charged with drunk driving and 547 drug drivers were found.
“These are people that are showing their own responsibilities and placing Queenslanders lives at risk and they simply had and we’ve seen a number of those fatal traffic crashes have involved speed and or alcohol and drugs combined,” he said.
“ So all of those traffic crashes that we’ve had, have had a human contribution to them and that’s why we call them traffic crashes and not traffic accidents.
“All of them could have been avoided by people either choosing alternative transport methods, such as taking taxis and Ubers.”
Mr Stream said in some cases the people involved were on short trips.
Over the two week period police issued 3904 tickets for speeding, 122 tickets were issued for drivers or passengers not wearing a seatbelt and 81 tickets were handed out for drivers on their phones.
“As we gear up for the final school term of the year, I do urge all motorists to remember school zones will be back in operation from tomorrow so please slow down and drive safely,” Police Minister Mark Ryan said.
“With over 2600 infringement notices issued by police officers in school zones in Queensland in just over two months this year.
“ It is a concerning figure when you consider these are areas where young children need to be safe and protected.
A LONG WEEKEND OF ROAD FATALITY HORROR
A man was flown to hospital in a critical condition following a crash between a car and a horse float on Sunday afternoon on the Sunshine Coast, and a 13-year-old boy was fighting for life after a buggy crash in the Somerset region, also on Sunday afternoon.
The horrific run of crashes began on Thursday night, with the deaths of two men after a vehicle rolled multiple times near Cloncurry.
The single-vehicle crash happened about 37 kilometres east of Cloncurry on the Flinders Hwy, about 7.15pm.
A 19-year-old man died on Sunday morning after his car hit a tree South of Gympie.
Cale Gilbert-Hall was on Monday identified as the teenager who died on Sunday after his car hit a tree on Rodwell Rd at Brooloo, near the Mary Valley Highway.
Two men in their 30s died after a horror crash into a train track at Kalkie, while a 73-year-old died in a freak accident in the Pioneer Valley, struck by his own vehicle, towing a caravan.
A 30-year-old man died after a single-vehicle crash at Worongary, in the Gold Coast hinterland, about 8.30 on Sunday night.
Police say the vehicle was travelling north along The Panorama when it failed to stop at an intersection and crashed into an embankment.
On Saturday, a 52-year-old motorcyclist died after a head-on collision on the Fraser Coast.
Stuart Wishart was riding west on his motorbike around midday when the bike collided with the 4WD, also heading in the same direction.
His wife Karen Wishart shared her shock at the news in a Facebook post on Saturday night.
The same day, a 21-year-old Nanango man was tragically killed when the ute he was driving rolled. Riley Wilson died when the white Toyota HiLux dual cab ute he was driving crashed on the D’Aguilar Hwy at Barker Creek Flat, near the intersection with McCauley Broome Rd.
In Logan, a woman in her 30s died following a fiery crash about 1pm on Saturday.
Across Australia at least 21 people have died over the long weekend.
Originally published as Horror weekend on Qld roads as accidents claim 10 lives
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