By Josh Dye
A honeymoon has ended in tragedy for a newly married Sydney couple after a woman died in a golf buggy accident on Queensland’s Hamilton Island.
About 4.30pm on Monday, the couple were on a golf buggy on the resort island in the Whitsundays.
Police said the man was performing a U-turn when the golf buggy flipped and killed his wife, 29, who was a passenger in the vehicle. The driver was physically unharmed.
Inspector Anthony Cowan described the fatality as a tragedy.
“It appears they were travelling and the battery on the buggy might have gone flat. So he’s conducted a U-turn to go back and charge it up and while turning around the buggy has rolled on its side,” he said.
“Golf buggies are a common mode of transport on Hamilton Island. There’s no indication of alcohol or dangerous driving or anything like that, it’s just a tragic accident.
“Maybe through inexperience driving those type of vehicles, while turning it has rolled on its side and unfortunately the female has fallen out and sustained life-threatening injuries.”
Police said the buggy was registered.
“There’s seatbelts on all the golf buggies on Hamilton Island. They’re subject to the same road conditions as any gazetted road. It appears there was no seatbelt being worn at this point in time,” Cowan said.
Graeme McIntyre, acting director of Queensland Ambulance Service, said other guests on the island tried to revive the woman.
“An off-duty dentist, an off-duty fire officer and the doctor from the island performed resuscitation for 35 minutes with no success.”
A spokesman for Hamilton Island said: “Our deepest thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of the woman involved in this tragic incident.
“Golf buggies are required to be operated in accordance with Queensland road rules and requirements on Hamilton Island. Our highest priority is the safety and wellbeing of our guests, residents and staff, and we are working closely with Queensland police to investigate the incident,” he said.