A horror smash that claimed the life of 17-year-old Golden Beach aspiring pilot, Broc, and seriously injured his 16-year-old Banya friend, Jett, has prompted outrage from local residents who are sick of speedsters making our roads unsafe.
The public outcry comes less than a fortnight after a car and motorcycle collision at 1:15 am on 14 September, which killed Broc and a male motorcyclist in his 30s.
Many local residents awoke to sirens and watched helplessly as the scene unfolded before their eyes.
The crash has prompted local Dad, Cam McNamara, to set up a petition for red light cameras in the area.
“I put it together because I’m a father who lives in Aura,” Mr McNamara said.
“My son is 9 and the thought of him dying in a car accident is terrifying – we need safer roads, safer behaviours, and safer drivers.
“The whole community murmured about red light behaviour in community forums for months: “someone is going to get killed soon” – now it has happened.”
The petition can be found at: Petition · Install Red Light Cameras at Intersections in Aura – Nirimba, Australia · Change.org.
Juanita Bennett of Banya said she often felt like she lived in a “lawless place” when out and about on the roads.
She said she had made multiple phone calls to Caloundra police to report dangerous driving.
“The amount of times I’ve nearly seen kids being taken out and all they say to me is to fill into an incident report,” Ms Bennett said.
“They did say they understand the issue, but there’s nothing they can do about it, which is very disheartening.
“It is so dangerous, and I am honestly surprised no one has died before this, but sadly sometimes it takes a death for someone to do something about it.”
Banya resident Peter Casey said frustrated motorists were calling for increased police presence on the roads across Aura and its surrounds.
“No one should die because we have morons running red lights – it’s sad to see someone so young die this way.”
Laurinda Cadel of Nirimba said she had lived in many places, but the roads of Aura seemed to be packed with dangerous drivers.
“I constantly witness people running red lights, tailgating and hooning throughout Aura,” Ms Cadel said.
“Increased police presence would help, and red-light cameras as well.”
Police do maintain a presence at the Emergency Services Precinct on the corner of Revelry and Novel Road, Bells Creek with a large police station also in Gregson Place, Caloundra.
A police media spokesperson told The Aura Post the Queensland Police Service (QPS) is “committed to keeping the community safe and will always ensure a strong police presence, particularly in large public and community areas”.
“While staffing figures will fluctuate from time to time, the QPS has sufficient staff and resources to deliver professional policing services to all Sunshine Coast residents and visitors,” the spokesperson said.
“The Service regularly reviews population growth, crime trends and service delivery requirements to ensure a fair and equitable policing service is provided throughout the State.
“The Sunshine Coast District, which is encompassed within the North Coast Region, has the discretion and flexibility to allocate police resources as needed.
“This borderless policing model ensures our workforce is agile and adaptable and not restricted by traditional policing boundaries.
This service delivery has also just been strengthened by the opening on the new Caloundra South Police Station in early August.”
The Caloundra station currently accommodates general duties officers, scenes of crime officers, road policing officers, and detectives from the Child Protection Investigation Unit.
“The station has the physical capacity to grow and accommodate additional resources over time to meet the community’s needs now and into the future,” the spokesperson said.
“Though always supported by other Sunshine Coast stations, this provides the Caloundra South community and its surroundings with a police response and presence in their own backyard.”
