2020 was a sad year for many but some deaths hit extra hard

The COVID-19 pandemic amplified so many pressure points in 2020, from unemployment and economic woes to housing stress. For those that lost loved ones, social distancing made grieving much more painful.

Mac Allen has been remembered.

2020 will go down as a difficult year for so many people as the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread sadness, with illness, death and economic pain snowballing in the disease’s path.

But against that background there were moments were the Darling Downs community was deeply affected by tragedy.

Here are some of the saddest moments of 2020.

Ute fall

The life of much-loved Toowoomba teen Mac Allen was cut short after he fell from the tray of a moving ute, on a property West of Oakey, in January.

Mac suffered a critical head injury and died.

The Highfields Secondary College student’s passing prompted an outpouring grief, especially among the member of the skating community who meet up at Chalk Drive.

Natasha Thorpe has been remembered by friends as a caring mum after her passing yesterday morning.

Mum lost in surf

Toowoomba mum and nursery worker Natasha Thorpe, 34, sadly drowned in the waters off Coolum in September.

At the time police said Natasha was swimming with her daughter when the pair came into trouble.

Her daughter managed to escape, and though nearby beachgoers were able pull Natasha from the water, could not be revived.

Brock Daniel, 16, died in a single vehicle rollover on Dalby-Cecil Plains Rd, on October 5.

Aspiring dad killed

Brock Daniel was only 16-years old but the young lad was keen to raise his two twin children.

He was overjoyed when he learned his girlfriend Madalyn Larossa-Robertson was pregnant.

Sadly, those two children will never meet their dad after he was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Dalby-Cecil Plains Rd, in October.

His family was rocked by a second tragedy a month later when Brock’s sister Taylor lost her partner Beau Roberts in a crash in Bundaberg.

Geham teenager Lachlan Douglas died on January 23.

Young life lost

Lachlan Douglas will be remembered as a fun-loving and talented soul after he was hit by a truck while walking along the New England Highway at Geham.

The tragic death occurred a short distance from Lachlan, giving his family a close but sad reminder of the man they lost.

Garry Kirstenfeldt died on Wednesday after contracting COVID-19.

Lonely deaths

There is not enough newsprint in the world to list stories of people missing important family events during the COVID-19 shutdown.

From cancelled weddings to lonely birthdays and babies born in isolation.

But perhaps some of the saddest stories are from people who could not say a final goodbye as a loved one lay dying.

Take for example the daughters of Toowoomba man Eric Charles Brown who died on August 14.

They were living in Sydney at the time and fought hard to get into Queensland, but were ultimately denied a place at their fathers funeral, despite the family delaying it for two weeks to accommodate the quarantine period.

Likewise, the family of Toowoomba man Garry Kirstenfeldt were kept in isolation as he died from COVID-19 in March.