Faraday St, Ravenswood fatal: Mowbray man ‘ejected’ from vehicle that hit power pole

A Tasmanian man who was a passenger in a speeding vehicle was not wearing a seatbelt when it collided with a power pole, police say. Here’s what we know about the tragedy so far.

Fatal single-vehicle accident at Faraday St, Ravenswood, August 28, 2023. Picture: Alex Treacy

A Tasmanian man who died in a motor vehicle accident on Monday morning was not wearing a seatbelt when the vehicle he was a passenger in struck a power pole and “ejected” him, police say

Tasmania Police said a silver Subaru left the roadway on Faraday St, Ravenswood, at about 3.23am.

The vehicle, driven by a 36-year-old Rocherlea woman, struck a power pole, ejecting her 36-year-old passenger from Mowbray. He died at the scene.

The woman was taken to Launceston General Hospital with “non-life threatening” injuries, Inspector Craig Fox said.

Her bloods have been taken and sent for analysis. No charges have been laid.

“Preliminary investigations into the cause of the accident are still ongoing but speed seems to be a factor and also the non-wearing of a seat belt,” Inspector Fox said.

“Whilst it’s extremely tragic that anyone has lost their life on Tasmanian roads… this is probably a preventable death.”

Tasmania Police Inspector Craig Fox at Launceston Police Station, August 28, 2023. Picture: Alex Treacy

Inspector Fox said the woman was conscious and had exited the vehicle when police arrived.

He said that the deceased and the woman appeared to have been in a relationship at some point, but he was unsure of its status at the time of the accident.

The Mowbray man was the second to lose in his life on Tasmanian roads in under 48 hours, following the discovery on Sunday morning of a 38-year-old at Forest, in the state’s North-West, and the overall 20th person to die on local roads.

Inspector Fox said police were doing all they can to hammer home the road safety message.

“The advice is that you’ve got to do everything you can to keep yourself safe on a road and that’s driving to the conditions, driving to the posted speed limit and wearing your seatbelt,” he said.

“This is all basic stuff that everyone should know. Unfortunately, the message doesn’t get through to some people and they continue to drive eratically at speed and without seat belts.”

Faraday St reopened to traffic at about 9am Monday.

The power pole into which the Subaru collided had fresh dirt compacted around its base to stabilise it following the damage it sustained.

The shoulder was strewn with broken glass and other vehicle detritus, including a bumper.