12:00a.m. 6th September 2008

| By Amy Remeikis

Rachel Purdy died in the horror accident on the Bruce Highway, north of Pomona, on Thursday. She was seven months pregnant.

On her Facebook page, a smiling happy Rachel Purdy had answered a question about her religious beliefs with “everything happens for a reason”.

Her family and friends would be struggling to find a reason for the loss of the former Noosa High School student, who died in the four-vehicle crash on the Bruce Highway on Thursday afternoon, along with her boyfriend Cory.

Rachel, 31, was seven months’ pregnant with her first child. The news of her pregnancy brought the death toll of Kybong crash to four.

Mark Hamilton, a 44-year-old husband and father of three, was the truck driver killed in the crash.

His colleagues were trying to come to terms with the loss yesterday, and his family members were too distraught to speak.

Rachel’s family had gathered at her mother’s Tewantin home. They, like Mr Hamilton’s family, asked to be left alone by the media to deal with their loss.

Rachel listed her occupation on her Facebook page as the state manager for the Hair Free centre.

Her boss, John Barker, told media he had spoken to Rachel just an hour before the crash and said she was planning on moving in with her partner.

Her friends poured their grief out on the internet site.

They wrote of her beautiful nature, the wonderful impact she had on their lives and how much she would be missed.

“The world is less beautiful without you. God must of needed an angel. RIP,” one friend wrote.

“All my Love, thoughts and best wishes to your family and friends Rach, you are an inspiring strong spirit and will forever be in the hearts of those you touched. It was a pleasure to have known you,” wrote another.

Giving a name and a face to the victims of the horror smash has made investigators even more determined to discover what caused the crash.

They believe it will take weeks for them to have enough answers to paint a picture of the moments leading to the impact.

The devastation of the scene has affected even hardened police officers and emergency service workers.

Learning of Rachel’s pregnancy was another blow to them.

Yesterday, police made another plea for all drivers to slow down. As they try to piece together what happened on that stretch of highway, you can understand why.