Mother of eight dies in head-on crash, toddler in critical condition

A woman was killed and a toddler critically injured in a head-on collision with a ute that police believe was travelling at high speed on the wrong side of the road, without headlights on, possibly on the way to a “hoon event”.

The 51-year-old woman, Roza Abebwa, on holiday from Victoria died at the scene of the crash on School Road in Logan Reserve, south of Brisbane, on Saturday night, while her daughter, and her niece who lived in Goodna, were taken to hospital.

Police said the family were travelling in a grey Ford Focus when they were hit by a Ford Falcon ute, driven by a teenage girl, about 9pm. They were investigating reports the ute had been travelling to an illegal “large-scale hoon event”.

Acting Inspector Peter Venz passed on police’s thoughts and prayers to Abebwa’s family.

Abebwa’s daughter, a two-year-old girl, suffered significant head injuries and was flown to Queensland Children’s Hospital in a potentially life-threatening condition.

Police said the toddler was still hospitalised, but in a stable condition, on Sunday morning.

The Focus was driven by a 28-year-old woman from Goodna who was Abebwa’s niece. She was taken to Logan hospital for injuries to her legs, hips, and back.

Officers believed the 51-year-old had been visiting family for the Easter holiday period.

Four teenagers were travelling in the ute, police said, including the driver, a 17-year-old Logan Reserve girl, who Venz said escaped physical injury.

He said she was taken to Logan Hospital for blood tests after the crash.

Some of the passengers in the Ford ute were ejected from the car and suffered “injuries, but not life-threatening injuries”, he added.

Paramedics said one passenger, a girl in her teens who suffered significant leg injuries, was taken in a serious condition to Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Another teenage girl suffering head injuries, and a teenage boy suffering head and chest injuries, were both taken to Logan Hospital in stable conditions.

Venz would not comment on whether police had established a connection to the hooning event, but said police had a substantial amount of footage through CCTV and social media linked to the crash.

“We’ll be investigating whether speed, driver behaviour, and also vehicle compliance were an issue,” Venz said.

Later on Saturday night, a social media post said to be from the event’s organisers said it had been cancelled.

“Tonight is being called off, too red hot and too many incidents that can’t be shared yet. Go home and be safe,” the post read.

A second post sent “thoughts and prayers” to the Victorian woman’s loved ones.

Venz said police did not think the ute was stolen, but had received reports it had no number plates, was unregistered, and had its lights turned off in the lead-up to the crash.

As of Sunday afternoon, no charges had been laid.

The death at Logan Reserve was among several road fatalities recorded in Queensland on Easter Saturday.

About 6.50pm, an 18-year-old Redland Bay man was killed when his black Honda motorbike struck a white Kia Cerato on Boundary Road, at Thornlands.

The rider was taken by helicopter to Princess Alexandra Hospital, but died from his injuries shortly after arriving. The car’s driver, a 24-year-old man from Acacia Ridge, was not injured.

In the state’s far north, a 31-year-old man died after a quad bike rollover at Palmerston, a rural community about 110 kilometres south of Cairns.

A fourth person died on Saturday night – an 83-year-old man from Wellington Point – as he succumbed to injuries from a single-vehicle crash in Wishart on Thursday morning.

His passenger, an 86-year-old woman, remained in a critical condition in hospital.

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