A nurse on her way home from night shift was among three people killed in a multi-car crash allegedly caused by a 13-year-old boy driving a stolen Mercedes.
A fourth woman is also fighting for life in hospital following the horror smash.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said her heart went out to the families impacted by the fatal collision, which happened in the regional town of Maryborough on Sunday night.
“This is an awful, awful tragedy,” she said. “It just should not be happening.”
Police, paramedics and firefighters responded to the emergency, as well as specialist staff aboard a Royal Flying Doctor plane diverted to the town.
Colleagues of the killed nurse were among those who rushed to the scene.
“A number of nurses who were ceasing duty and a paramedic who was ceasing duty, who are known to … the nurse that’s passed away … came and assisted,” Queensland Ambulance operations supervisor Martin Kelly said.
The incident is having “a tremendous impact” on health and emergency services workers, he said.
“A number of our paramedics know the nurse as well and it makes it very difficult when responders know people involved in theses incidents.”
A 13-year-old Bundaberg boy is in custody after being charged with three counts of dangerous driving causing death and one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
He was allegedly driving the stolen car when it crashed into the back of a Holden on Saltwater Creek Rd about 10.45pm.
The Holden then hit a Mazda travelling in the opposite direction, killing its driver and sole occupant, a 52-year-old Torquay woman.
The driver and passenger of the Holden, a 17-year-old Oakhurst girl and 29-year-old Maryborough woman, also died at the scene.
A second passenger in the Holden, a 23-year-old Tinana woman, was airlifted to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a critical condition.
Several families and a large circle of friends would be affected across the Maryborough region, Assistant Police Commissioner Brian Connors said.
“All of the persons involved from the victims’ side … are all local people who have roots in the community,” he said.
Police believe the car was stolen in Maryborough several hours before the incident and investigations are under way into what happened between the theft and the crash.
The alleged driver is known to police but wasn’t subject to any form of bail undertaking and is due to face Maroochydore Childrens Court at a later date.
Police are also investigating whether there was a passenger in the Mercedes who may have fled the scene.
The charges come six weeks after Queensland passed a suite of measures designed to drive down youth crime, including harsher prison terms for car thieves.
Police continue to investigate the incident and have asked for information from anyone who saw the silver Mercedes in the Maryborough and Hervey Bay area before the crash.
© AAP 2023
