Man killed in Yeppoon New Year smash

Sharyn Moodie | 1st January 2009

SAD BEGINNING: A man died when his car veered off Woodbury Road near Yeppoon and hit a tree yesterday.

IT was the worst possible start to 2009.

An 82-year-old man died when the car he was driving slammed into a tree on Woodbury Road, Yeppoon, just before 2.30pm yesterday.

The sole occupant of the car, he was believed to be returning to his Woodbury home from a Brisbane holiday.

Rockhampton Police Inspector Marcus Hill said the man was driving along Woodbury Road, between Browns Lane and Cooberrie Park.

Inspector Hill said the car had left the road and travelled alongside it for 80 to 100 metres before hitting the tree.

The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating and will examine whether a medical condition may have contributed to the accident.

Family were expected to be notified last night.

The accident was discovered by passing motorists.

It was the third death on Central Queensland's roads this week.

On Monday night, 52-year-old Tungamull woman Trisha Bulman was killed on the Bruce Highway at Raglan.

She had left a parked car and walked onto the road when she was hit by a vehicle.

She died instantly.

On Sunday afternoon, Comet miner Jason Holzberger, 35, died when the car he was driving and another vehicle collided on the Capricorn Highway at Bauhinia Creek near Duaringa.

Statewide, the 2008 road toll of 327, down by 33 deaths over 2007, was “a good story to tell”, Police Minister Judy Spence said yesterday.

Ms Spence revealed plans to drive the death toll even lower as she unveiled the slogan “Below 299 for 2009”.

“While any loss of life is obviously unacceptable and a tragedy, it is 33 down on that figure from last year,” she said.

“In fact, it's been the lowest figure since 2004. We're aiming for 299 as our road toll in 2009. We want to push down the road toll by another 34 in 2009 to get below the 300.”