What happened:
Last Friday night an illegal burn-out event on Gooreengi Road at the entrance to North Arm Cove went horribly wrong when the driver of a vehicle doing burn-outs lost control and hit two observers and a power pole. The vehicle burst into flames, and the driver fled the scene.
The two observers - a 20 year old woman and a 14 year old girl - were injured and taken to hospital in Newcastle. I understand that they both received serious leg and pelvis injuries. I don't know how they are going - I rang the hospital today and they couldn't tell me anything. I hope they are OK and recovering well.
Two days later the 22 year old driver of the vehicle was arrested and charged with multiple offences. He is due to attend Raymond Terrace Court in May.
This event was a real tragedy - the two injured women could suffer from this for the rest of their lives, and the young driver will end up with a criminal record and possibly a stint in jail.
"I told you so"!
This could have been avoided, if the authorities had done their jobs properly when residents first reported the issue to them in mid 2023, it would not have happened.
I hate to use the term "I told you so", but in this case it is warranted. On 15 January in an email to Council I said "one day someone is going to get seriously injured through this activity, either a motorist or one of the participants/observers".
In the same email I also said "On behalf of our community I am requesting that Council get involved as a matter of urgency to find a traffic engineering solution to this problem – through barriers, median strips or whatever can be done so the intersection is just not suitable for burnouts. Implementing video surveillance would also be useful as it would make the intersection less attractive. Council’s help in getting this practice stopped would be greatly appreciated."
On 26 January Council responded and said that it was looking into coarse angular stone and rumble strips to deter burn-outs.
I responded on 29 January with "we would be grateful if you could ask your staff to give this priority, especially to implement temporary measures pending a longer term solution." Unfortunately nothing was done and three lives have now been wrecked.
Key message to authorities:
I feel that the key message that needs to come out of this is that when communities complain to authorities about safety issues or illegal activities, the authorities should respond quickly. When they don’t things can easily get worse. In this case they got worse, with three young lives now wrecked.
The same message applies to illegal developments, when the Council ignores residents complaints and doesn't do anything to stop them and fails to enforce legal requirements, then things get worse and they keep happening and more and more illegal structures get built, with the local environment gradually being destroyed.
So what's Council doing about it?
Council have told me that they are looking into installing high friction aggregate sheeting and rumble strips at the intersection. Apparently the high friction sheeting shreds tyres quickly making it unattractive for burn-outs. No timetable has been provided, and we don't know if any temporary measures will be done in the interim. Council should also consider installing video surveillance to record any burn-outs and supply the footage to the Police.
What can residents do about it?
Hopefully last weeks tragedy and increased police attention will mean the burn-out hoons won't be back - but they may be. They may even be attracted to try out the Councils anti burn-out treatment when it is installed to see if it works.
So if you see or hear burn-outs happening in our area call Policelink on 131444 immediately and tell them what you have seen and where, and ask for police to be despatched to the location urgently. If you have any dash cam footage please preserve it so it can be provided to the Police to help their enforcement processes.
It's been a media circus!
The media started chasing me on Saturday morning, seeking background information, quotes, interviews and photographs - News of the Area, Sky News, Newcastle Herald, Channel 7, ABC Radio and NBN News. Thankfully it finally stopped on Wednesday. It's been a hectic few days!
If you would like to know what was written or said, links are below and copies are attached.
ABC Radio interview below - click on the play button to listen. The interview starts at 15 seconds.
