RIDER CATAPULTED INTO RIVER IN FATAL MOTORCYCLE CRASH
THE family of a Gold Coast man who died after being “catapulted” into the Brisbane River when his motorbike crashed have paid tribute to their brother, uncle and son “taken too soon”.
Dean Jagger, 31, was killed when his red Kawasaki motorcycle slammed into a barrier on the Riverside Expressway in Brisbane on Saturday causing him to be thrown into the water below at about 10.20pm.
Acting Inspector Steve Watterson said witnesses to the crash called emergency services.
“For reasons currently under investigation he collided with the concrete barrier and was catapulted into the Brisbane River,” he said.
Water police and emergency services commenced a search of the river, locating Mr Jagger near the Queen St Ferry Terminal where he was pronounced deceased.
It is believed police will investigate if alcohol or speed were a factor in the crash.
Dean’s sister, Tracy Jagger, took to social media to share beloved photos of her lost brother and express her family’s grief.
“I’m in shock and can barely function … my heart feels like its bleeding,” she wrote on Facebook.
Ms Jagger said her brother’s fall from a “mega height” in full motorcycle gear when he could barely swim would have been a “nightmare”. “I pray (he) didn’t suffer.” Dean’s nephew, Corey Jagger, posted a tribute to his uncle online saying the “whole family is struggling right now”.