Dangerous: Intersections like the one where five people lost their lives near Yarroweyah on Thursday, April 20, have been described locally as “disasters waiting to happen“.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Moira Shire Council has offered counselling services to people impacted by the fatal road crash in which five people died on the Murray Valley Highway on Thursday, April 20.
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Five occupants of a Nissan Navara died in the crash at the intersection of Labuan Rd and the Murray Valley Hwy early in the afternoon.
Police have charged Christopher Dillon Joannidis, 29, of the Melbourne suburb of Doncaster, with five counts of dangerous driving causing death, alleging the Mercedes sedan he was driving went through a give way sign while travelling north on Labuan Rd, pushing the Navara, which was travelling west on the Murray Valley Hwy, into the path of an oncoming milk tanker.
He successfully applied for bail in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Friday, April 21.
In passing on their condolences to the families impacted by the tragedy, Moira Shire’s administrator John Tanner and acting chief executive Joshua Lewis said the council was making available a range of counselling services to assist all those involved in the incident.
“Our whole community is affected deeply by this tragedy,’’ Mr Tanner said.
“We will provide whatever assistance we can to help the families and relatives cope with its effects on their lives.
“I extend this in particular to the families of Ms Debbie Markey and those who have flown in from overseas, as well as to the people at JBS Australia abattoirs (in Cobram) and Booth Transport and its driver who was involved in the accident.
“Their lives have been changed forever.
“The shire is a close-knit community.
“It is only through reaching out and coming together that families in need can be helped.”
It is believed those who died in the crash, Ms Markey and overseas workers from Taiwan and Hong Kong, were employed at the abattoir.
The intersection where the crash occurred is just a couple of kilometres from Yarroweyah.
Yarroweyah Football Netball Club president Ben Henderson said four of their players worked at the abattoir and were having a tough time coming to terms with the loss of their colleagues.
“Quite recently we had four (Pacific) Islanders join our football club and they come from the abattoir,” Mr Henderson said.
“They’re getting through it, but they’re definitely doing it tough.”
All the club’s teams, including senior and junior football and netball teams, wore black arm bands for the weekend’s games to honour the people killed.
Respect: Yarroweyah Football Netball Club footballers and netballers, including Nigel Sanai, a Solomon Islands national, wore black arm bands on Saturday during matches against Jerilderie in the Picola District Football Netball League to honour the five people who died in a road accident near the town.
Horrific: The Murray Valley Hwy was blocked in the aftermath of the horrific fatality at the intersection with Labuan Rd.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
It is not the first time the club has been touched by road tragedy with multiple accidents impacting members.
“The last two times it’s really hit close to home,” Mr Henderson said.
He believes more needs to be done to improve safety on rural roads in the area.
“They’re disasters waiting to happen,” he said.
“From a local’s point of view they are just not up to standard.
“They’re all 100 km/h roads, which is really in my words, definitely not up to standards, and in the case of that one (Labuan Rd), you’ve got a 100 km/h road leading into another 100 km/h road and just a give way sign.”
Moira Shire is working with Victoria Police and the Department of Transport to improve the immediate safety of the intersection.
“We believe a corridor plan for the Murray Valley Hwy with a strong focus on safety along its entire route across Moira would be an important initiative,” Mr Lewis said.
“The road is the backbone of the shire’s transport network and must be safe for all users, whether they are driving trucks, cars or motorcycles.”
A minute’s silence will be held at the council meeting on Wednesday, April 26, to contemplate and reflect on the loss of lives and the families affected by the incident.
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