Widow wins road crusade
A WIDOW has declared a ceasefire in her war with Tweed Shire Council after learning more than $1 million will be spent upgrading the road that claimed her husband’s life.
Karl Langheinrich, 67, drowned in February last year after his car “aquaplaned” in wet weather on a tight curve on Kyogle Rd near Braeside Drive before landing upsidedown in a tidal creek.
Wendy Sarkissian, who survived the crash, has been a vocal critic of Tweed Shire Council, claiming her husband would still be alive if it had responded adequately to road safety concerns in the wake of a double fatality at the same spot.
Cecilia Bevelander and 16year-old daughter Matilda were killed 13 months earlier after colliding with a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction.
Dr Sarkissian, a former town planner, welcomed news the council will receive more than $1 million in Federal Black Spot funding to install guardrails and skid-resistant pavement, realign a curve, improve road alignment and upgrade pavement markers. “It is bittersweet … (but) I look forward to driving along a safe, realigned resurfaced Kyogle Rd.
“When that road is properly fixed to international standards, our advocacy will have succeeded. Council will have taken responsibility and nobody else will have to die there.”
Dr Sarkissian is yet to receive a response to her request for the NSW coroner to hold an inquest into the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death. The coroner previously determined “manner of driving” was a contributing factor.
The Tweed Shire Council said it had “acted in accordance” with the coroner’s recommendations following the Bevelander crash, which included installing advisory speed signs and considering an upgrade of the road surface. and