It has been only a year since a part of the major road on Central Coast collapsed in a heavy rain, claiming five lives and only two months since only a miracle prevented even possible worse when part of Woy Woy road was washed away, and we finally know who is responsible for those deaths.
Of course, ladies and gentleman, not surprisingly it is the driver. He was pissed off (0.002 over the limit) and might have possibly smoked “some substance” some time before. Thanks God, we all know that driver simply was drunk and therefore did not notice the gap until very late.
What a bunch of crap, I think. Whole 0.002 over the limit! Did anyone notice any reference on how accurate that blood alcohol test is? But regardless, in the first turn they did not hit the power pole that crossed the road, they did not park in the tree - they drowned in a river of dirty water in the same spot where a road was supposed to be, and, which does not make it any easier for those who really responsible for road collapse, the drainage issue was known well before and the collapse was completely preventable. But nothing has been done. The driver might be drunk but isn’t his and four other people death a bit too severe punishment for not predicting what should and could be prevented?
Living in Australia, we are relatively lucky - we don’t get black ice on the road (awesome feeling of sudden and total loss of control, a fresh change of pants may be required, if you were lucky), we don’t have six months of snowfalls, limiting visibility to tens of meters, the roads are mostly built on rocks instead of swamps, there are still plenty of room for new road (opposed to crowded Europe). The only we need is to build a road and make sure that when rain finally falls, it will go into sewage alone, without taking the asphalt with it. It is as simple as it is and not a rocket science at all - I bet building the house on the slope may be much more challenging than constructing a road. But why the hell things like this still happen? What are they waiting for? For a school bus full of children, sorry, don’t even want to think about that.
They have got their whipping boy, but why should we even care about who to blame? There is nothing we can help them or their families, there is only one question that should be asked - what has been done to stop roads from being flushed away in a country suffering from worst ever drought? Woy Woy road makes me think that very little indeed…
I am very, very frustrated, ladies and gentlemen.
Your an idoit if you think that the driver “adam” is a fault! the media are just feeding shit that people want to hear. They didnt tell you when you die your sugar levels in your body increase or even create an alcohol substance which can put you over the limit. you dont what your talking about. we need safe roads. there are alot of other factors that contribute to this accident and the public will never no unless they attend the inquest. the media doesnt care about the truth they just like creating shit stories to feed people the negative information they want to hear to make themselves feel better about life. go to the inquest and learn the truth. dont assume or make a decision of the information the media gives you its shit!
P.S not to meantioin cannabis can stay in your system for 6 mths…..
That’s what my post is all about, mate.
Media wants fried facts, but this does not make roads safer.
P.S. Don’t know anything about cannabis.
I have attended the inquiry. I am angry that it was held in Sydney at Liverpool Street Central Court and Glebe Coroners Court. The inquiry returns on the 17 of July to the Sydney central court at Liverpool Street. I took many notes and the media had at times two or more reporters taking notes also. Copies of the transcript cost $7 per page I cant afford that! The autopsy witness reported that a low range PCA and a low level of thc when both were present in the same person the adverse effect was in fact greater than the sum of the two parts. Certainly the bought and paid for media will run with the inflammatory details and ignore any pretence at balanced reporting. Joanne McCarthy was the first to run the blood toxicology reports front page in the Newcastle Herald and her lead was followed in the Telegraph Extra by Brook Newstead a person exposed in print as careless with the truth. Both guilty of mercenary reporting at its worst! The fact is Gosford City Council was always able to put a road closed sign on that road without closing down any business, at worst a one mile detour, and force the issue of funding. It did not do that . The same malfeasant council could have accepted the quote from TYCO to repair the rusted out culverts , it did not do that. The RTA could have repaired the three pipes with a concrete lining of the invert of the three pipes when it became aware that this was needed, after the collapse of a steel culvert down the south coast at Wollongong. They did not. It is also very important to understand I have photographed inside yet another steel culvert pipe under the F3 between Gosford and Wyong which is totally rusted out just like Piles Creek and Leask Creek. The banks of the highway have also been subsiding. A new concrete pipe has been installed five meters along the road. But the question for the Minister for roads Roosendaal is why would his responsibility the RTA be telling the coroner one thing and management be ignoring that same published advice?
http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/has-rta-failure-left-minister-roads-catch-22
Edward James
Edward,
The whole story does not smell good. I can’t imagine how cynical a person has to be to run a story like that on a front page.
Joanne McCarthy was once writing for the Express Advocate. Anyone might perceive the Express Advocate which earns a big revenue from Gosford City Council may be biased in what stories it runs with and how they spin them, when the council may be exposed in a bad light. Personally I believe the condition of the driver did not play a big part in why five people are dead. I listened to the evidence of the people who tried to save Mr Holt. When they first came on him in the creek, he screamed to them to look further down the creek for his wife and kids. He was trapped in the door of the car, which was unstable in the rushing waters. You had to be there and hear the words of the witnesses who tried at least three times to get a line to Mr Holt. The cries of anguish from the parents and close family when the witness gave a very graphic description of the waters covering The fathers head and then he reappeared and one more try with the makeshift line was made, then the car became buoyant lifted and rolled and he was gone. He was being washed away with the car but what the people who tried to save him had to say, did not give any indication that he was not acting as effectively as any father and husband could have while watching his family be destroyed by mother nature, helped along by the malfeasance of the elected corporate entity.. The court was adjourned while people including myself regained our composure. Most people busy looking after their own families and earning a living are unaware of another report on the rusted out Piles Creek three pipe culvert which came into the hands of the Coroner in the last week of the inquiry. It is an estimate of cost to repair the rusted out pipes which was made by Gosford City Councils own in house engineer and dated 2002, the figure was $475.000.00 What is surprising is Gosford City Council was subpoenaed to provide all information related to what I personally believe is a State sponsored tragedy. And the real important stuff was lost in the system and hence not available to the court. Here is a link http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/node/51262 to what I photographed inside the pipes shortly after the family died. Please if you read this spread the photos around because there is a cover-up of sorts going on.
Edward James
The slight traces of cannabis and alcohol will be used to get whatever Department is responsible off the hook , it’s wrong that they should even suggest this caused the accident
I attended the last day of the hearing on the 17 we were told it was to be at the Sydney central court. It wasn’t till people arrived there we were told oh sorry it is being held at the Glebe Coroners Court. Now we are waiting to hear the findings handed down at Gosford on the 19 of September. The last thing I did was give copies of the photos I took of the rusted out pipe under the F3 to Helen Bragg but because of the delay in getting to the right court it was too late the process had been adjourned and submissions had been taken. Readers can see the photos here http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/has-rta-failure-left-roads-minister-roozendaal-catch-22 I have been very active on this issue because I beleive council management at many levels were not doing their jobs, and certainly there are issues related to the state mandated insurance which may have been overlooked. You see the council had certainly since 2002 know it had a big problem with that culvert and local road formerly State Highway 10. For that reason there should have been an entry under contingent liability in councils audits and there were several audfits following the road becoming a known problem which could result in death or injury, something that the councils insures Statewide Mutual should have been advised about in writing. I don’t believe they were. I intend to write and ask the council though.
Cheers Edward James