Ex-detainees die as road toll hits 20: [1 All-round Country Edition]
John Stapleton, Andrew McGarry. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 26 Dec 2002: 3.
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Abstract
TWO former Woomera detention centre inmates on their way from Adelaide to Melbourne for a holiday were killed instantly when their car hit a tree near theVictoria-South Australia border late on Christmas Eve.
Wali Hanifi, a spokesman for the Afghan Islamic Cultural Association of South Australia, said: “We don’t think they had any relatives in Australia. It’s very sad.”
The NSW toll was four, less than half the toll last year. Queensland led the list of fatalities with seven.
Full Text
TWO former Woomera detention centre inmates on their way from Adelaide to Melbourne for a holiday were killed instantly when their car hit a tree near theVictoria-South Australia border late on Christmas Eve.
Police said three people were in the car when the accident occurred at Bordertown in South Australia. A 12-year-old boy identified only as Abdullah and 16-year-old Mohammad Ali were killed instantly.
The driver of the car, 19-year-old Mirza Alizadah, was taken to Bordertown Hospital before being transferred to Adelaide’s Flinders Medical Centre, where he remained last night in intensive care.
It is believed the three had been released into the community for less than a year.
Wali Hanifi, a spokesman for the Afghan Islamic Cultural Association of South Australia, said: “We don’t think they had any relatives in Australia. It’s very sad.”
The death of a middle-aged woman in a single-vehicle accident south of Perth early yesterday brought the national Christmas road toll to 20.
West Australian police inspector Gary Kosovich said it appeared the woman’s sedan failed to negotiate a bend. The vehicle mounted the curb and rolled several times. The driver was killed instantly.
Also yesterday, a Victorian man aged about 20 died in the state’s west after a car ran off the Glenelg Highway about 4am and rolled. Two passengers were taken to nearby Hamilton Hospital.
Despite the deaths, the national road toll as of yesterday showed a marked improvement on last year, with 28 people killed in the same period in 2001, and follows intensive police campaigns in all states.
The Northern Territory showed the biggest improvement with no deaths, compared with three last year.
The NSW toll was four, less than half the toll last year. Queensland led the list of fatalities with seven.
Five people had died in Victoria, three in South Australia and one in Western Australia. Tasmania and the ACT had no fatalities.