Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner provides an update on a fatal crash at Holtze

Transcript

Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner provides an update on a fatal crash at Holtze · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now we know over the course of the weekend where
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  Speaker 1: we learned that there was a terrible fatal crash in
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  Speaker 1: Halts on Friday night and the Northern Territory Police are
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  Speaker 1: investigating that fatal. So at about seven thirty pm, police
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  Speaker 1: received a report that a vehicle had struck a pedestrian
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  Speaker 1: on thorn Gate Road. Now, the Northern Territory Police have
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  Speaker 1: since issued a statement saying that the pedestrian has now
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  Speaker 1: been identified as a seventy two year old local woman.
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  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line to tell us a little
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  Speaker 1: bit more about the situation is Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan
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  Speaker 1: Linda from the Northern Territory Police. Good morning to you, Brendan.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning Catie.
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  Speaker 1: Brendan. What exactly happened from what you know so far
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  Speaker 1: on Friday night?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, So Friday evening, about seven thirty pm, a crash
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  Speaker 2: occurb with the pedestrian on thorn Gate Road in Yarrawanga.
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  Speaker 2: What's occurred is a vehicle traveling towards the Robson Barracks,
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  Speaker 2: pass the Bunnings there on Yarrawanga thorng Gate Road three,
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  Speaker 2: Yarrawonga has collided with a pedestrian on the road, and
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  Speaker 2: then a very short time after that, a passenger coach
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  Speaker 2: traveling in the opposite direction has then run over the
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  Speaker 2: pedestrian who was on the road at that point, tragically
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  Speaker 2: resulting in her death. Both drivers stopped as legally required
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  Speaker 2: and reported it to police, and we're investigating obviously how
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  Speaker 2: and why that crash has occurred and just ensuring that
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  Speaker 2: the drivers. You know, at this stage is nothing suggest
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  Speaker 2: to suggest the drivers are doing anything wrong.
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  Speaker 1: Now I understand that obviously major crash. Are investigating and
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  Speaker 1: continuing to appeal to motorists who exactly are you keen
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  Speaker 1: to talk to at this point.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, So we're trying to work out exactly why the
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  Speaker 2: pedestrian was on the road before the crash occurred. So
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  Speaker 2: we're we're specifically calling for witnesses who were traveling through
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  Speaker 2: thorn Gate Road before seven thirty pm. One witness is
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  Speaker 2: described seeing a car a full drive being driven towards
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  Speaker 2: the Yarrawonga end and having a brief flash of the
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  Speaker 2: high beam lights towards them, Yeah, which indicates to us
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  Speaker 2: that they saw something that concerned them as the road hazard.
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  Speaker 2: So we're just trying to work out exactly why the
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  Speaker 2: pedestrian was on the road.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, now have you got a description of that pedestrian.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so she's a seventy two year old indigenous lady
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  Speaker 2: who lived locally in a bush camp out of Yarrawonga.
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  Speaker 2: There she was wearing a brightly colored dress, prominently sort
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  Speaker 2: of yellow but multicolored dress. So if anyone traveling through
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  Speaker 2: the area saw her on or near the road prior
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  Speaker 2: to seven thirty pm, were keen just to speak to
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  Speaker 2: you to work out what she was doing, so we
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  Speaker 2: can complete our report to the coroner hopefully, you know,
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  Speaker 2: try and prevent these deaths occurring in the future.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, it sounds like a terribly tragic situation with
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  Speaker 1: the loss of that seventy two year old woman, and
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  Speaker 1: also an incredibly confronting situation I would imagine for the
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  Speaker 1: two drivers of that vehicle, those vehicles.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and there were there are a number of passengers
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  Speaker 2: on the bus itself. You know, it's attending these incidents
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  Speaker 2: of tragic for all all concerned, obviously, the people involved,
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  Speaker 2: the people on the bus, the witnesses, the emergency services
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  Speaker 2: and police that attend. Tragically, she ended up under the
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  Speaker 2: bus and you know, the major crash investigators are you know,
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  Speaker 2: quite literally on their belly removing or trying to extricate
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  Speaker 2: the decease from underneath the bus. So it's a it's
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  Speaker 2: a difficult job, but.
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  Speaker 1: Oh sounds like a terrible situation for everybody involved in
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  Speaker 1: an absolutely terrible situation for that pedestrian's family and you know,
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  Speaker 1: and her loved ones at this point, you know, Brendan,
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  Speaker 1: For anybody out there listening who does have any information,
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  Speaker 1: what exactly should they do at this point?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, contact police on one three one triple four and
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  Speaker 2: just just tell the operators that you've got some information
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  Speaker 2: about that, about the crash. I would love to be
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  Speaker 2: able to speak to you. I just reiterate, you know,
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  Speaker 2: we've had numerous hit and runs in recent times. Both
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  Speaker 2: these drivers stopped straight away and did what they were
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  Speaker 2: required to do. So it's just a reminder at all
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  Speaker 2: to take care on the road. If you are involved
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  Speaker 2: in a crash, stop at the scene, call police, do
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  Speaker 2: what you can to assist the person, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: just be drive to conditions and be be mindful of
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  Speaker 2: that pedestrians can be on the road seemingly unusual places.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, and make sure that you take care Brendan,
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  Speaker 1: just just to confirm the basically that you know, that
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  Speaker 1: scene has been processed now, hasn't it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so that the crime thing was established, the road
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  Speaker 2: was blocked, and that was completed overnight.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, and so basically for the police now those
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  Speaker 1: next steps are hearing from witnesses and you know, are
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  Speaker 1: there is there anything else we should be aware of?
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  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, we we we we know we've recorded the
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  Speaker 2: scene and we know how the crashes occur. We we
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  Speaker 2: want to work out why the pedestrians on the road beforehand.
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  Speaker 2: There there are an infinite number of reasons why someone
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  Speaker 2: might be on a road. It's not necessarily just you know,
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  Speaker 2: being intoxicated on the road. There could be a number
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  Speaker 2: of reasons why persons on the road. So that's that's
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  Speaker 2: the focus of investigation at this stage. And obviously, well
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  Speaker 2: we'll conduct further forensic analysis of the crash itself just
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  Speaker 2: to ensure that the drivers have done everything there there
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  Speaker 2: they went speeding and that obviously both of them tend
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  Speaker 2: negative for drugs and alcohol the scene and stopped. So
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  Speaker 2: at this stage is nothing to suggest have done anything wrong.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Detective seeing is Sergeant Brendan, Linda, we really appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your time this morning. Thank you so very much for
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  Speaker 1: having a chat with us.
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  Speaker 2: No, thank you, thank you.