A string of horrific tragedies rocked the region and devastated first responders last weekend.
Last Sunday morning, a man died following a two vehicle crash at Hampden, north of The Leap.
Mackay Police reported that initial investigations indicate at approximately 10.20am a Toyota Landcruiser collided with a Mitsubishi Triton travelling in the opposite direction.
RACQ CQ Rescue was tasked to the scene by Queensland Health, where debris was strewn across the stretch of road at Hampden on the Bruce Highway. The helicopter, with a doctor and Critical Care Paramedic on board, landed on the closed highway near the intersection with Zunkers Road.
Upon arrival at the scene, a male driver was being treated by paramedics and was in a stable condition. A woman in the second vehicle, believed to be towing the caravan, had suffered minor injuries and the driver was trapped inside the crumpled wreckage of the ute for about 30 minutes.
Police said the driver of the Mitsubishi Triton, a 70-year-old Munruben man died at the scene. Two other passengers were taken to hospital for treatment to non-life-threatening injuries. The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating.
The day prior, Saturday August 6, RACQ CQ Rescue was returning from a hospital transfer from Clermont when the Mackay-based rescue helicopter was tasked to a serious farming accident south of Koumala.
A man had been working alone on a tractor on a hill on the property more than 60km south of Mackay and didn’t return home at the expected time. A family member set off an hour later in search and tragically found the man crushed between the tractor and a tree. It is believed the tractor came off the track and slid down a siding, pinning the driver against the tree.
RACQ CQ Rescue landed on flat ground nearby the accident scene as paramedics performed CPR on the critically injured man for over an hour. Sadly, he died from his injuries.
The tragic deaths last weekend follows Friday’s airlift of a 30-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his abdomen after he and three of his family members were allegedly shot and killed over a property dispute at Bogie, east of Collinsville.
RACQ CQ Rescue was tasked by Queensland Health to fly to Collinsville with a doctor and Critical Care Paramedic on board after reports four people had been shot. The flying trauma team was then diverted to a homestead on a property at Normanby Road to treat, deliver blood and transfer the wounded man. He was flown to Mackay Base Hospital in a critical condition for life saving surgery.
The Bogie shooting is covered in more detail in this edition of Whitsunday Life.
A man has died and two others were injured in a horrific two-car collision on the Bruce Highway at Hampden last Sunday
A man died after being crushed by his tractor on a property south of Koumala last weekend. Photos supplied: RACQ CQ Rescue
