Bowen man charged over death of JCU medical student Wangige Kiumbura
Police have charged a man over a tragic fatal crash on the Bruce Highway that led to a car bursting into flames.
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A Bowen man has been charged over the death of James Cook University medical student Wangige Kiumbura in a horror Bruce Highway crash in the Whitsundays that resulted in a car bursting into flames.
Mackay’s Forensic Crash Unit has charged the man, 61, over the crash in Myrtlevale in September 2024 just after 5pm.
It is alleged he was under the influence at the time of the crash.
Emergency services were called to the two-vehicle crash, involving a Holden utility and a BMW sedan, on the Bruce Highway around 5pm on September 15.
As a result of the crash, the BMW exploded into flames.
The driver of the sedan, Burdell resident Ms Kiumbura, died at the scene. She had been travelling home to Mackay at the time of the crash.
The driver of the utility, the 61-year-old Bowen man, was flown to Mackay Hospital in a critical condition.
Police have charged the man with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance and did drive UIL.
He will appear in Proserpine Magistrates Court on February 24.
Originally published as Bowen man charged over death of JCU medical student Wangige Kiumbura
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