An 18-year-old Cranbourne man died when his car hit a tree in Narre Warren South on 2 December. Two other people have lost their lives on Casey’s roads in the past two weeks.By Bridget Brady
POLICE have made an impassioned plea for drivers to take care after a disastrous start to the festive season on Casey’s roads.
Three people have lost their lives in about two weeks, bringing Casey’s road toll to nine for the year.
Casey Highway Patrol Sergeant Pat McGavigan said it was horrible to see three tragedies so close to Christmas.
“How many more people aren’t going to see Christmas?” Sgt McGavigan said.
“I’m asking motorists to take care. No one wants to be involved in road trauma but a lapse in concentration or the thought it will not happen to them can lead to devastating circumstances.”
While the three deaths were a bad start to the Christmas period, Sgt McGavigan said he was pleased to announce the TAC would give Casey police $100,000 in the new year to tackle road safety, after Casey was recognised as about the second most high-risk Police Service Area in the state.
Sgt McGavigan announced the funding after the three deaths.
The first was a 54-year-old Casey council worker from Heath Hill who was hit by a car on Kennington Park Drive in Endeavour Hills on 24 November.
The man had stopped his vehicle and was going to work on a water leak on the nature strip when the collision occurred. He died in hospital on 27 November.
An 18-year-old Cranbourne man, who had his licence for 14 days, died when he lost control of his car and hit a tree on The Boulevard in Narre Warren South on 2 December.
And Sgt McGavigan said a 56-year-old Narre Warren man lost control of his car and hit a tree on Chateau Avenue on 4 December. The man was not wearing his seatbelt, Sgt McGavigan said.
The Narre Warren Fire Brigade attended the scene where the 18-year-old Cranbourne man died and captain Paul Hardy joined police in appealing for motorists to be careful this festive season.
“It’s pretty disturbing for someone so young to die so close to Christmas,” Mr Hardy said. “The worst part about it is the impact it has on family and friends during the Christmas holidays. We are having a bad run in Casey.”
Mr Hardy asked people to “take it easy”, as one small mistake could change people’s lives.
