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terrible news, but a timely reminder for us all - my mum and dad know the family (they literally live around the corner from Dundowran Road, and I take my kids swimming down there everytime we are up there).
Stay safe people:
http://www.frasercoastchronicle.com....ager-walligan/
Yes that is just so sad even made worse this time of the year..
sad story, a good guy helping others out
Yep - just tragic no matter how you look at it ... think of the countless number of videos on YouTube where you see recoveries and people just milling about near the straps etc ... we may have gotten to the top of the food chain after a million years of evolution, but sometimes you have wonder how ...
Sincere condolences to his family - as said, the poor kid probably was just trying to help out and didn't even know the dangers ... whatever way it happened.
RIP Addison. Condolences to the family & friends.
Ross
Copy out of today's Sydney Morning Herald.
Broken tow rope 'like slingshot', killing boy in back seat
Marissa Calligeros
December 14, 2010 - 1:24PM
Addison Yates.
Addison Yates was sitting in the back seat of a four-wheel-drive bogged in
bushland mud when the hook of the tow rope being used to pull them free came
loose, catapulting through the rear window like a slingshot at a speed of up to
160kmh.
The hook hit the 14-year-old boy in the head, killing him.
Details emerged today of the tragedy, which occurred outside Hervey Bay on
Sunday evening.
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Addison Yates. Fraser Coast Chronicle
Addison had been 'bush bashing' with two mates when they became bogged on a
sodden dirt track in the Vernon Conservation Park, in Walligan.
Four friends in two other 4WDs tried to haul the vehicle out of the mud.
Addison's friends, believed to be aged between 17 and 21, connected the three
4WDs together in a convoy with snatch straps.
The region had been soaked with rain earlier in the day, but the rain
continued to fall as the group tried to reverse the bogged vehicle out of the
mud on Dundowran Road.
Addison sat in the back seat, facing backwards to watch the action.
But the group had underestimated the tension two vehicles would place on the
towing straps.
Detective Sergeant Bruce Hodgins said the force was so great on one strap the
metal hook was sheared off the tow bar and catapulted back towards Addison.
"It acted like a slingshot," Sergeant Hodgins said.
"The two vehicles put an unbelievable pressure on the strap. There was also
incredible pressure on the middle vehicle.
"The hook bolts couldn't take the pressure."
The tow strap used was designed to bear a load of five tonnes, but the two
vehicles created a load of about seven tonnes, Sergeant Hodgins estimated.
He said Addison and his friends often went bush bashing and were not
unfamiliar with the terrain in the reserve.
"Did his friends act irresponsibly? No," the police office said.
"Did they underestimate the force of the two vehicles? Yes."
Queensland University of Technology physicists Stephen Hughes and John Barry
estimated the hook would have catapulted through the rear windscreen of the 4WD
at between 100 and 160kmh.
However Dr Hughes, a medical physicist, said the force would not need to be
great to cause fatal head injuries.
"Even the slightest bump on the head can be fatal," he said.
"The person in this case would have suffered severe brain damage if they had
not died."
Emergency crews waded through chest-deep water in a flooded creek to reach
the group after searching for them for hours.
"It took some time for police and ambulance crews to get to him," Sergeant
Hodgins said.
"[Addison's friends] offered what assistance they could, but they realised
there was little hope."
Addison was the son of Hervey Bay Pastor Darryn Yates, who operates the
Church by the Bay and a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre. A widower,
Pastor Yates runs the centre with his new wife, Jill, after Addison's mother
Dianne died.
Friends and family expressed their grief and disbelief on social networking
site Facebook yesterday.
"He was such a kind and giving person. Why did he have to die?" one friend
wrote.
Anther said: "He was the nicest kid. Man you are goin' (sic) to be missed so
much."
Sergeant Hodgins said the tragedy served as a warning to others planning to
go four-wheel-driving in the holiday season.
"This could have happened to anyone, anywhere," he said.
"It could have been a mother, or a very young child sitting in that
seat."
He recommended training courses in towing bogged vehicles to help prevent
future accidents.
Absolutely terrible tragedy. my heart and prayers go to his family. :(
Have to agree with all the above posts. Tragedy can strike at any time.
Condolences to the family, What a terrible loss for them all.
Puts a knot in your stomach just reading about it.
As Scotty says, Stay Safe people, and dont become complacent out there.
Cheers Pete