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9:05PM Sunday 07 September, 2008 Sunshine Coast weather Mostly sunny min 10° - max 23°

'We feared someone would get killed'

12:00a.m. 18th September 2007

'We feared someone would get killed'

Nambour High School student David Blackman, 15, who was killed in Saturday's horrific accident on the Bruce Highway near Kybong. Photo: Courtesy Channel 7

It was an accident waiting to happen.

A fatal crash on the Bruce Highway near Kybong on Sunday morning was something residents of streets around the home of the 15-year-old driver had feared for months.

They allege the youth has repeatedly driven his mother’s vehicle for the past five months, often hooning and doing burn-outs.

They said he would drive around the residential streets of Bli Bli with other young teens hanging from the roof.

Residents said cars had been in and out of the Bli Bli neighbourhood until 5am yesterday and there was talk of the young driver receiving death threats. They were fearful his home would be targeted by people angered by the tragedy.

Police questioned the youth again yesterday about the accident, which killed 15-year-old Nambour High School student David Blackman and left another teen on life support after the vehicle crashed at about 3am Sunday.

Police declined to comment on residents’ claims that complaints about the behaviour of the illegal driver had been made to both Child Safety and to police.

Residents say the accident was inevitable.

“His mum has been begging to stop him driving. People have been text messaging her to get him to stop it,” one resident said.

“There are tyre marks in Kupiano Street where they do burnouts at 10pm at night. They drive up and down the street at night with kids hanging from the roof. He was an accident waiting to happen.”

It is thought the five teenagers had been at a party at a Conondale home in the hours before the crash.

While unable to comment on the crash investigation, which the Gympie Forensic Crash Unit is carrying out, Sunshine Coast Superintendent Ben Hanbidge asked people to stop and think before they acted.

“Police will be treating any form of acts of retribution against the driver of that vehicle very seriously and any act would be fully investigated,” he said.

“If there is any truth in such an allegation (of retribution attacks), I would advise anybody to not be so stupid and allow police to finalise their investigations into the crash.

“This accident further illustrates what can happen when you combine inexperience with speed and alcohol. It is a recipe for tragedy and reinforces the message that we are trying to get through to parents – to educate your children about safe driving practices.”

Emotions were running high among David’s friends yesterday, some of whom are still coming to grips with the death of Nambour teenager Nakitta Deacon in a triple fatality at Mountain Creek almost a year ago.

David’s school principal, Wayne Troyahn, described him as a “cheerful and happy young man with a bright smile” and said grief counselling had been arranged for staff and students.

“The thoughts of the school community are with David’s family at this difficult time,” Mr Troyahn said.

“He had a friendly disposition and was well liked by his friends. He will be sadly missed by the school and its community.”

Jamie Burn, the 17-year-old on life support, remained in a serious but stable condition in Royal Brisbane Hospital.

Another passenger, 15, was believed to be in a good and stable condition at Nambour General Hospital after having plates inserted in his broken legs.

Police are thought to have questioned the driver again yesterday. It is believed his family moved him from their home late last night as a precaution.

Teens had been at party

Out late at night and out of control

Get tough on wayward teens

Recent Comments

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Posted by SuziHB from Maroochydore
on 18 September, 2007 at 10:11 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I can't help but wonder why a kill switch couldn't have been installed in the mother's car to at least slow this kid down. These kids are not 'in charge' and are just children. This is something that should be instilled in them. Juveniles like these ride roughshod over their parents, especially if it is a single parent family. The law needs to be tougher on these kids and in this case the driver who repeatedly took and drove his mother's car should have received more than just a cursory slap on the wrist before a tragedy like this happened. This kid's life, his family's and those other families caught up in this will never be the same, ever again.
Posted by bob_kbrd from bli bli
on 18 September, 2007 at noon ( Suggest removal )
How many times do teenagers have to be killed or injured before teens wake up and realise that driving and acting like fools is irresponsible and they cause a lot of grief to family and friends. Teenagers think they own the place, well heres something - you dont.
Posted by Mozart from Mooloolaba
on 18 September, 2007 at 2:47 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
A "lot of bad choices" WERE made that night indeed. I was the "passing motorist" who arrived first on the scene, and it was only a couple of minutes beforehand that the car involved had sped past me at a very high speed. Firstly, however, I would really like the Blackman family to know that their son did NOT suffer at all, small consolation though it may be.

And though I don't want to start pointing the finger, I really don't understand why a mother is BEGGING her own under-age son not to basically STEAL her own car, and take it joyriding with his equally underage friends. I am not a parent, and therefore cannot criticise or condemn, and I remember that when I was a teenager, I occasionally "borrowed" the family car too, but if my parents would have known about it? It would have been ME being the one doing the begging!

I guess it is a sign of the times, and I like the sound of these "attitudinal" driving classes - which SHOULD be mandatory. Maybe the ones who are doing the "signing up" are the ones who are maybe more aware and conscientious in the first place, and the ones who already think they know it all (as you do when you are a teenager) are already taking their "style" to the streets - with tragic end results.

Making these driving classes compulsory would instill a decent knowledge and practical experience in these kids, ALL OF THEM, and I'm sure this would contribute to a better driving ethic overall...
Posted by lee86 from gympie
on 18 September, 2007 at 4:19 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Where was the mum and dad?
What were 15 year old kids doing near Gympie?
What the hell was the mum of the kid that was driving doing letting her 15 year old son drive round the streets for the last five months?
She is just as much as blame as her kid is she could have stopped him. Now he's killed one kid and hurt two other kids. When will it stop?
Posted by chelleg from buderim
on 18 September, 2007 at 9:46 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
This was NOT a 'one off' incident. And what a terrible, tragic result. The memory of this will haunt those involved and their families for years to come.

How about having some tact and hiding the keys, or installing a cut off switch like suggested???

I for one cannot get my head around all the talk of the driver being inexperienced... of course 15 year old CHILDREN should not be EXPERIENCED drivers. Sure, make driver education mandatory for those old enough to get their license, but if this CHILD irresponsibly got behind the wheel time and time again in the first place, i wonder just how much notice he would have taken of these workshops.

As citizens we should not have to live with the thought that when we venture onto the roads our lives may be cut short as a result of the actions of irresponsible fools.

Yes, something needs to be done at the court level, but something SHOULD have been done much closer to home BEFORE it ended so tragically.
Posted by Courtnee from Woombye
on 29 April, 2008 at 9:15 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I think your all pathetic.
Its happened.
I dated David for almost 2 years.
He was the sweetest most nicest guys i had ever met.
You people are just pathetic questioning where his parents were.
His mum is an amazing woman.
She shouldnt be to blame for any of this.
Grow up and stop blaming this on his Mum!
Posted by rachshane from Logan Central
on 5 June, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
one of my family member was in that crash jamie burn he was not on life support at all so dont always belive what people i was seeing jamie everyday i did not no how to tell him about blackmam his mum told him for about a week jamie was cryin in my arms he was heart breakin blackman was like family to him till this day jamie still misses him blackman was the sweetiest person we all miss him alot in the burn family i hope his in a good place watchin over us R.I.P blackmanxoxox
Posted by surfie_chik from bli bli
on 24 June, 2008 at 2:20 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
i think that many people seem to forget that we are kids we are only young once. we do what we do most of the time coz we see that someone else has done it and we see that it is acceptable for us to do it and that must have been what david thought....

so maybe us as a society should realise that we are teaching these kids to do what they are doing.. david was a good kid he was like a little brother to me i loved him dearly he lived my family and i and for that short time he was there he was good kid but when u get invovled with the wrong people than things can change.... my heart goes out to ms Blackman and the blackman family.. ur son will be missed greatly...

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