logo
Queensland road toll climbs to 158 after 10 people killed in horror weekend

Queensland road toll climbs to 158 after 10 people killed in horror weekend

Ten people have died in five fatal road crashes across Queensland since Friday night, prompting a warning from the state's peak motoring body of a worsening road toll.
The recent tragedies take Queensland's road toll to 158 so far this year, with fears 2025 could end up surpassing last year's total of 302, which was the highest in 15 years.
Three of the five fatal crashes over the weekend were in central Queensland.
On Sunday morning, emergency services were called to the Capricorn Highway, between Comet and Blackwater, in the Central Highlands, as two vehicles had crashed and caught fire.
Four people died at the scene and two men in their 20s are in a serious condition in Brisbane and Emerald hospitals.
In the Mackay region, three teenagers died after a head-on collision on the Mackay Ring Road in Glenella on Friday night.
The driver, aged 29, was taken to Mackay Base Hospital in a serious condition.
On Saturday morning, a 45-year-old motorcyclist died after he crashed into a ute and trailer stopped in front of him at Mount Pleasant, in Mackay.
Further south, an 18-year-old Kingaroy man died in Hivesville, in the South Burnett region, on Sunday morning when he was struck by a vehicle while lying on the road, police say.
On Friday night, emergency services were called to Tamborine, in the Scenic Rim, to reports a man had fallen out of a car.
A 26-year-old man sustained critical injuries and died at the scene.
There have been 158 fatalities from Queensland road crashes so far this year.
Michael Kane, head of public policy for Queensland's peak motoring body RACQ, said the latest tragedies meant the state was heading towards equalling or exceeding last year's road toll.
There were 302 road crash fatalities in 2024 in Queensland — the highest in 15 years.
"So many lives have been lost and so many other lives have been terribly impacted," Dr Kane said.
Dr Kane said the growing road toll showed we had a lot of work to do as a community to turn it around.
"There is no reason why we should accept a worsening road toll for a number of years; it was getting better," he said.
Dr Kane said while there was a need for safer roads and better maintenance, particularly in regional areas, there also needed to be a focus on safer road culture.
"We are driving at high speeds, we think our cars are cocoons, but if we crash at a high speed or if we're doing the wrong thing in the way we drive, we can change and lose our life… or cause the loss of life of someone else as a random person or someone we love," he said.
RACQ is also calling for better traffic policing, following survey results which showed the public thought there wasn't enough police presence on the roads.
Dr Kane said there had been a decline in the statistics of random roadside breath and drug testing since 2023.
"We have seen in the last 12 months that start to change and the Queensland government has had a focus on getting more police into the police force and getting more random breath and drug tests, but that needs to step up," he said.
"But these changes can't be made overnight."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Family of outback killer Bradley John Murdoch hold private funeral service
Family of outback killer Bradley John Murdoch hold private funeral service

News.com.au

timean hour ago

  • News.com.au

Family of outback killer Bradley John Murdoch hold private funeral service

The family of outback killer Bradley John Murdoch has held a private funeral service to farewell the man responsible for one of Australia's most notorious crimes. Murdoch, who was serving a life sentence for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio in 2001, died on July 15. He had been diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019. The 67-year-old never revealed where Mr Falconio had been buried. In a private ceremony for family and friends, Murdoch was cremated and his ashes scattered at an 'undisclosed location', 7News reported on Thursday. After his death, his family remembered him as a devoted family man. 'To many, Bradley Murdoch is known only for the events that led to his conviction in 2005 for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio, a crime for which he has always denied responsibility from his arrest until his death,' their statement to the media said. 'But to those who truly knew him, he was much more than the headlines. 'Brad was a devoted father, father-in-law, and proud Poppy who never missed a chance to brag about his grandchildren. He was a beloved brother, uncle, and friends.' Mr Falconio's parents Joan and Luciano said they still held out hope their son's remains would be found. 'Upon hearing that Bradley John Murdoch had died our first feeling was of relief, it's like a weight that's been lifted. 'We are only forced to think about him now that he's died, we don't want to let him ruin our lives more than he already has. 'The awful thing is our family's future with Peter was cruelly taken away. 'Today we instead focus on the three children we have left and our grandchildren.' Murdoch was convicted of murdering Mr Falconio on July 14, 2001. Mr Falconio had been travelling with his girlfriend Joanne Lees in a Kombi van along the Sturt Highway, north of Barrow Creek between Darwin and Alice Springs, when another car stopped alongside them and motioned to them to pull over. When the Kombi van pulled over, Murdoch shot Mr Falconio in the head. Murdoch then tried to kidnap Ms Lees, pulling her out of the van and binding her wrists with cable ties before forcing her in the back of his vehicle. While Murdoch went back to his vehicle, Ms Lees managed to escape and hid in the bushes for several hours before she flagged down another driver. Murdoch was found guilty of murder in December 2005 and was sentenced to life in jail with a non-parole period of 28 years. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial and twice tried to overturn the convictions, but both attempts were unsuccessful. Murdoch would have been eligible for parole in 2032, but the NT's introduction of 'no body, no parole' laws in 2016 meant he would only have been released if he revealed the location of Mr Falconio's body. In a statement released after his death, the NT Police Force said it remained committed to 'resolving this final piece of the investigation'. 'It is deeply regrettable that Murdoch has died without, as far as we are aware, ever disclosing the location of Peter Falconio's remains,' the statement read. 'His silence has denied the Falconio family the closure they have so long deserved. 'We continue to appeal to anyone who may have information that could lead us to Peter Falconio's remains to come forward, no matter how small the detail may seem.'

Tearful ICAC witness recalls 'very improper' meeting with transport official
Tearful ICAC witness recalls 'very improper' meeting with transport official

ABC News

time3 hours ago

  • ABC News

Tearful ICAC witness recalls 'very improper' meeting with transport official

A traffic controller has told the state's corruption commission that he went behind his "wife's back" to pay kickbacks to a Transport for NSW (TfNSW) official, in order to win lucrative roadwork contracts. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is investigating allegations that Ibrahim Helmy, who worked for TfNSW for 15 years, received $11.5 million in payments for helping contractors secure roadwork jobs, often at inflated prices. Mr Helmy failed to appear at ICAC earlier this month and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. On Thursday, operations manager at Direct Traffic Pty Ltd, Adam Spilsted, became emotional, telling the commission he would pass cash to Mr Helmy "under the table" at a Merrylands restaurant to help secure contracts for the business. "I was scared of not getting any work," he said "Working for a government agency such as Transport for NSW is a privilege," he said, choking back tears. "I've done the wrong thing ... It's something I should have … reported." Mr Spilsted told the hearing that Mr Helmy initially offered to help him win state government contracts because he knew Mr Spilsted's father. The ICAC earlier heard that about $48 million in contracts had been awarded by TfNSW to Direct Traffic Pty Ltd between 2018 and 2025. Mr Spilsted said Mr Helmy gave him tender evaluation criteria, as well as confidential information on other companies' bids. However, during one of their meetings at Merrylands library in 2018, Mr Helmy allegedly asked for money. "In order for me to give you this work, I would expect some type of payment," Mr Helmy allegedly said. Counsel Assisting, Rob Rob Ranken SC, asked Mr Spilsted whether he understood the gravity of that request. "Did you appreciate that what he was proposing was improper?" Mr Ranken asked. Adam Spilsted said he later told his wife, Mechelina Van Der Ende-Plakke, who is a director of Direct Traffic Pty Ltd, that Mr Helmy had asked for money. "She didn't want to give him any money whatsoever," he told the hearing. According to Mr Spilsted, Mr Helmy threatened to stop helping him win contracts unless he got paid. "So, what I did was went behind my wife's back," he told the commission. Mr Spilsted said he initially paid Mr Helmy using gift cards, but was soon told "the gift cards aren't cutting it". He later made several large cash withdrawals and handed them to Mr Helmy both in his car and "under the table" at an Egyptian restaurant in Merrylands. However, as the relationship continued and more contracts were awarded to the business, Mr Spilsted said the transport official wanted more money. "Every time that I'd see him, he'd ask for money all the time," he said. Mr Spilsted told the hearing that Mr Helmy ultimately asked him to pay about $600,000. He said that when his wife found out about that demand, she threatened to "dob" Mr Helmy in to TfNSW. Mr Spilsted said he warned her against going to authorities, saying they would both get into a "lot of trouble" because "we'd already paid him". The hearing was then played a phone conversation allegedly between Ms Van Der Ende-Plakke and Mr Helmy, recorded by Mr Spilsted. In the recording, she told Mr Helmy she was "shocked". "If we would go ahead with this [and] it would ever come out, it would not be good," she said. She told Mr Helmy she only wanted her company to win contracts based on merit. The man — allegedly Mr Helmy — responded by trying to reassure her. "I don't see it as badly as you're seeing it," he said. However, he later conceded "it is not 100 per cent legal". The hearing continues.

Newspaper delivery driver sentenced to home detention over fatal hit-and-run in Darwin
Newspaper delivery driver sentenced to home detention over fatal hit-and-run in Darwin

ABC News

time3 hours ago

  • ABC News

Newspaper delivery driver sentenced to home detention over fatal hit-and-run in Darwin

A Darwin newspaper delivery driver who drove and then reversed over three people late at night, as they lay sleeping on the road has avoided time in prison for fleeing the scene. International student Aryan Aryan, 22, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of hit-and-run causing death and two counts of hit-and-run causing serious harm, and was sentenced in the Darwin Local Court on Thursday. Family members of the victims watched on — some in court and others from Maningrida and Alice Springs, connecting via video link — as the court sentenced Aryan to four months' home detention and a suspended prison term of seven months. The court heard Aryan was delivering newspapers on Trower Road in the Darwin suburb of Brinkin about 1:50am on April 19 this year, when he struck the woman and two men with the vehicle he was driving. Acting Judge Giles O'Brien-Hartcher said Aryan had then reversed over the victims, illuminating them in his headlights to see what he had hit. Acting Judge O'Brien-Hartcher described the victims' injuries as "horrible, sickening and tragic". The woman died in hospital from her injuries, and the incident also contributed to the subsequent death of one of the men. Acting Judge O'Brien-Hartcher accepted that the vehicle strike was accidental and Aryan was "not driven by malice". "I think it is the case that people sleeping on the road surface gives rise to significant risk to themselves," he said. Rather than offering the victims help or calling police after the collision, the court heard Aryan had driven away. It was only 40 minutes later that he returned to the scene and called authorities, after ringing his father and a colleague. The court heard Aryan had only confessed he had been the driver involved in the strike when handing himself in to police 12 hours later. "Those actions, while not reasonably justified, were informed by shock and upset at what happened," Acting Judge O'Brien-Hartcher said. During sentencing, the judge considered a victim impact statement provided by one of the victim's families, sharing the "intense sorrow and grief" they felt, along with character references prepared by Aryan's employer and the Sikh Association of the NT. Acting Judge O'Brien Hartcher also accepted that Aryan had shown remorse and insight into his offending. He said the victims' outcomes would not have been any better if Aryan had called police sooner.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store