TOWN IN MOURNING FOR MUM
Police call for witnesses to Southedge fatality
THE woman who died in a head-on collision with a truck north of Mareeba has been identified as Tablelands mum Kelly Yendle.
The 39-year-old was driving a Volkswagen Jetta on Monday with her four-year-old son in the back when it collided with a southbound sugar truck on the Mulligan Highway at Southedge about 3.40pm.
She was critically injured and died several hours later in Cairns Hospital, while her son was flown to Townsville Hospital with serious head injuries. He was in a stable condition. The family requested the boy not be named.
Ms Yendle is a Tablelands local who grew up at Dimbulah and lived at Walkamin.
Her family has suffered significant tragedy in recent years with her aunt, beloved Mareeba State School prep teacher Debralee Ricci, killed in a crash involving a drunk driver in 2017. Ms Yendle’s grandfather Brian Dunigan, a respected figure in the Dimbulah community, spoke after the sentencing of the driver about the family’s heartache.
Former local councillor, current LNP candidate and Dimbulah resident, Nipper Brown, said the latest fatality was “tragic”.
“Dimbulah has had its fair share of tragedy over the last couple of years,” he said. “But I’m sure the community will get behind them and support them in any way they can.”
Police have revealed Ms Yendle and her son were believed to have not been wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
Cairns Forensic Crash Unit Sergeant Scott Ezard said initial investigations suggested the truck driver did his best to avoid the crash, guiding the prime mover to the far left of the road, but the sedan hit the truck behind the cabin near the front wheels and went into a spin. “This is a timely reminder of the importance of being suitably restrained in a vehicle,” he said.
The crash occurred on a 100km/h section of the road.
Sgt Ezard said investigations would focus on why the sedan was believed to have travelled on to the wrong side of the road and the truck’s dashcam footage would be used as part of the probe.
The truck driver, a 60-yearold man from Atherton, was not physically injured.
Police have called for any witnesses or those travelling in the area at the time with dashcam footage to come forward and contact police or Crime Stoppers.