A reminder, life is too precious

THE death of a 38-year-old woman from Bayview Heights on Saturday is nothing short of a freakish, tragic accident.

The woman and a 26-year-old man also from Bayview Heights, the passenger, had been travelling on the Gillies Highway just before 9.20am when a large tree fell on to their moving vehicle.

Sergeant Scott Ezard of the Cairns Forensic Crash Unit said the tree fell on to the front cab of the vehicle, directly striking the woman. She died at the scene.

The man was taken by rescue helicopter to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition.

I often drive the Kuranda Range Road and the thought has crossed my mind on many occasions what would happen if a tree uprooted and fell across the road.

The thought is scary because it really could happen at any time. We live in the tropics with huge trees and the rainforest lining some of our busiest roads.

The tree that struck the vehicle on the Gillies Range on Saturday is estimated to be about 25 metres long and about seven tonnes. A chainsaw crew was called in as well as a crane to clear the road.

Another tragic part of this incident is that some family members of the Bayview Heights woman had been in the car directly in front of her. They ran out to offer assistance, but unfortunately there was little they could do.

This tragic accident really makes you think how precious life is and how so much can change in an instant.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the woman who has died. Andrea Falvo andrea.falvo@news.com.au