Ferntree Gully
Belgrave
Mail Covering the Dandenongs in the Yarra Ranges & Cardinia Shires
17-18 Tuesday, 12 January, 2016
Year in pictures
3
A Mail News Group publication
Graffiti spree
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Sports of all Sorts
Phone: 5957 3700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808
Young lives lost By KATH GANNAWAY and PETER DOUGLAS
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edy in August when Yarra Glen footballer, 16-year-old Cooper Ratten, died in a crash on Glenview Rd. The driver, 17, and another passenger, also 17, were also local footballers. In March, 21-year-old Charlie Robertson died on Milners Road in Launching Place. At the time, two 20-year-olds were fighting for their lives and two others had minor injuries. Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol Acting Sergeant Graeme Rust said the jump in road deaths was disturbing. “Youth is the big one, and it’s preventable,” he said. The impact is something that police speak about every time.
The frustration of seeing lives lost and the factors that make it so senseless - no seatbelts, alcohol, drugs, speed ... no licence. No-one is immune. “It can be a lot of the same police officers attending collisions that are also involved across their communities as well,” Acting Sgt Rust said. “It’s not only the families that are impacted, it’s emergency services, police and other close friends, as well as family,” He said drug-driving was an emerging and disturbing trend. In the Lilydale Highway Patrol office alone from March last year 214 people were sent off to be tested after initial samples indicated drug use.
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Picture: KATH GANNAWAY
Acting Sgt Rust said that doesn’t take into account those detected by other police units working in the region. Yarra Ranges Mayor and paramedic working in the Yarra Ranges, Jason Callanan, said rural and regional areas had been hit hardest when it came to the road toll. “Getting your licence is one of the best things that kids can do, as far as their independence and their ability to go out and get employment,” he said. “But they’ve got to understand that the vehicle they are driving can be a danger, and they really need to understand the consequences of any risktaking behaviour.” Across the state, TAC figures show
that 22 of the young people who died were on regional roads. He said everyone had to shoulder the responsibility for keeping each other safe on the roads. “Whether it’s speaking up from the passenger seat when you see something unsafe, or just talking to a mate if you have concerns about their driving, these are things that could prevent a tragedy,” he said. He urged parents to stay involved with their children’s driving after they move on from L-plates and to talk to them about avoiding risky situations. In 2016, headlines like ‘Pain won’t stop’, ‘Birthday tragedy’ and ‘Tribute to Angels’ we can all do without.
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THE death of young people on our roads last year seemed like a neverending story. In terms of impact - immediate and for years to come - there was no doubt in the Mail office that it should be our ‘issue’ of the year. Seven young people died on local roads, around the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley. We’re not alone in bearing this tragic and preventable waste. Figures released last week by the TAC show that across the state young driver and passenger deaths more than doubled last year compared with 2014. It’s not just the deaths, the life-affecting injury is something that is buried in time. Often, it’s not the driver who becomes the statistic. They end up in court, usually with the broken families beside them, and who even knows how they manage not only the legal repercussions, but the guilt and regret that they must own. The deaths at Avonsleigh in July of teenagers Sharn Walker, Felisha Allen and Jason Breakwell, the girls still at school, sent ripples of shock and grief across the region. Jake Mitchell survived that crash. Their involvement with the Emerald Football/Netball Club was part of a network of sport and school which connects young people from towns right across Yarra Ranges. Sharmaine Blyth, 19, from Cockatoo died in April at Yellingbo when her car ran off the road and hit a tree at Yellingbo. The crash that took the life of 16-year-old Amber Beard in Mount Evelyn in October was a scene of absolute carnage. There were nine people in the car aged from 16 to 26 and no-one came away without injury. The driver, a 22-year-old former Healesville resident, was critically injured, as was her 26-year-old male passenger. The Yarra Ranges football/netball community was once again hit by trag-
32 years.
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