Fiance grieves lost love killed in workplace accident

YOUNG mum Carli Watsford was killed in a tragic workplace accident when she was pinned under a dump truck on a sand quarry in Nyora, just two weeks before her wedding.

Gary Dehaas lost his pregnant wife, Carli Watsford, in a workplace accident in March 2016. Picture: Andrew Batsch

YOUNG mum Carli Watsford was killed in a tragic workplace accident when she was pinned under a dump truck on a sand quarry in Nyora, just two weeks before her wedding.

Ms Watsford’s fiance, Gary Dehaas, said he was devastated he and their one-year-old daughter, Kira, never got to say goodbye before the “freak accident” on March 1 this year.

Ms Watsford, 30, who was pregnant with her second child at the time, was crushed when the truck she was driving fell down an embankment at a South Gippsland ­worksite.

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“That morning, I had forgotten Kira’s nappy bag, so I had to do a U-ey and turn back, and Carli giggled at me, and called me an idiot because I was in a rush,” Mr Dehaas said.

“About 1.30pm, I heard a couple of the truckies talking about an accident on the two-way radio at work, and by 3.30pm, I got a call from my dad saying a truck had gone off an embankment in Nyora.”

Gary Dehaas with his daughter, Kira. Picture: Andrew Batsch

Mr Dehaas desperately tried to contact Ms Watsford, but knew in his gut something had gone wrong when she wouldn’t answer his calls or text messages.

“I saw on the news, the truck’s final resting place; the supervisor came up and turned the TV off at work.

“When she wasn’t answering my calls, I knew straight up it was her.

“Shortly after, my phone rang, and got told at 4pm that at 1pm, Carli had passed away.

“I pretty much went blank after that, I don’t remember much after that.”

Ms Watsford, who was described as an “adventurous girl” who loved being outdoors and loved her job, was finishing the last load on the quarry before heading on her lunch break, when she reversed too far and the earth gave way underneath the truck.

“The second slip let go, and dragged her under, and dragged the truck on top of her,” Mr Dehaas said. WorkSafe is still investigating.