A 13-year-old boy allegedly driving a stolen car has been charged over a horror crash that killed three people in Maryborough, 250 kilometres north of Brisbane.
Police allege a Mercedes-Benz was travelling south on Saltwater Creek Road around 10:45pm on Sunday when it collided with the rear of a Holden, causing it to veer into oncoming traffic and crash into a Mazda that was travelling in the opposite direction towards Hervey Bay.
The driver and sole occupant of the Mazda, 52-year-old Torquay nurse Sheree Robertson, died at the scene.
The driver and a passenger of the Holden, 17-year-old Kelsie Davies from Oakhurst and 29-year-old Maryborough woman Michale Chandler, also died at the scene.
A second passenger in the Holden, a 23-year-old woman, was flown to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital with "multiple significant traumas".
Acting District Superintendent Brad Inskip said the woman was "fighting for her life".
The 13-year-old, who was allegedly driving the Mercedes-Benz, suffered minor injuries to his foot.
Police allege the Mercedes-Benz was stolen from a Maryborough residence earlier on Sunday evening.
Assistant Commissioner Brian Connors said one of the victims, Ms Robertson, was a nurse at the local hospital who was on her way home from a shift, and the woman critically injured had close links to the local police service.
Both were known to first responders.
"This is a tragic set of circumstances to affect a community, particularly a small community like Maryborough," he said.
"Our thoughts and condolences go out to the victims and their families, and also the first responders who responded to the incident.
"For one [crash] to be so severe, there will no doubt be ripple effects right across the community of Wide Bay."
Queensland Ambulance Service Senior Operations Supervisor Martin Kelly said a number of nurses and a paramedic who had just finished work for the evening, and who knew Ms Robertson, rushed to help.
"It makes it very difficult when responders know people that are involved in these incidents," he said.
"The effects of this on them come after, when they get a chance to sit and think about who's been involved.
"All these people are someone's family. They're someone's sister, they're someone's brother, they're someone's mother, they're someone's child, they're someone's workmate.
"I know this is having a tremendous impact on the health and emergency services staff in Maryborough."
Mr Kelly said he had spoken to some of the local nursing staff and paramedics who knew the nurse personally, including some of those who responded to the crash.
"Imagine those that have turned up on the scene and know this person, how difficult that is to act like the utter professionals that they did in someone's time of need," he said.
"I've been in the job 45 years, it's always difficult ... 41 years ago I lost a brother, four cousins and a friend in the one accident on Anzac Day. Of course that brought that straight back to me last night.
"These are difficult times and I know personally that these are feelings that people are going to feel forever."
Tributes to 'a loving character'
Hervey Bay nurse Caitlyn Brown stopped at the crash site to lay flowers this afternoon for her "kind and friendly" colleague at Maryborough Hospital, Ms Robertson, who was killed in the crash.
The graduate registered nurse said she looked up to Ms Robertson, who she'd known for just a few months.
"She was a light on the ward, loud and boisterous and such a loving character … she was so supportive of taking us on," she said.
Ms Brown said the mood among colleagues was sombre on Monday.
"It was pretty difficult going into work this morning but we were all sharing wonderful stories of how she's affected all of our lives and how she's interacted with patients in wonderful ways," she said.
"It's something you don't think about until something like this happens.
"Everybody on the ward's finished the shift today with 'Drive safe', so I think it's something that we'll all start saying to each other."
Ms Brown said the support from the nursing and regional community had been heart-warming, including visits from off-duty staff sharing flowers, hugs and memories.
"It's just been like a little family that have all banded together today — emotional tears and laughing," she said.
"I think they all needed that to get through."
Ms Brown said management had offered support to staff.
Mercedes-Benz driver known to police
Assistant Commissioner Connors said the alleged driver of the Mercedes-Benz was known to police and confirmed he was in police custody.
"The driver was not on any type of police bail at the time of the incident," he said.
"I can't go into specifics, but he was known to police."
The 13-year-old from Bundaberg has been charged with three counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and is expected to face the Maroochydore Childrens Court at a later date.
Assistant Commissioner Connors urged anyone with dashcam or other footage from around the time of the incident to come forward.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the triple-fatal crash was an "awful tragedy".
"It just should not be happening," she said.
"Our hearts go out to the families tonight, and our deepest condolences."
It's been a horror 24 hours on the road for Queensland's Labour Day long weekend with another fatal crash near Dalby in the state's south-west.
The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating the death of a 58-year-old passenger from Tara after a ute collided with a power pole on the Warrego Highway around 10:30pm Sunday night.
The driver of the ute, a 26-year-old Chinchilla man, was transported to the Toowoomba Hospital in a stable condition.
