Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
National

Teenage boy allegedly driving stolen car involved in horror Maryborough crash that killed three

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.

Acting District Superintendent Brad Inskip said the alleged teen driver was briefly hospitalised but released soon after. (ABC News)

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."

Shattered glass remains on the road following the multi-vehicle collision. (ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram)

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.

Nurse Caitlyn Brown places flowers at the site where her work colleague died at Maryborough.  (ABC Wide Bay: Jake Kearnan)

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.

Caitlyn Brown says her colleague who died was "a light on the ward" where she worked as a nurse. (ABC Wide Bay: Jake Kearnan)

"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.

A deep tyre mark on a field near where the fatal crash occurred. (ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram)

"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."

Black rubber marks remain near the site of the crash that killed three people. (ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram)

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.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.