Dad: Son killed on pizza run was about to quit
THE father of a teen killed on a fatal pizza run for a Gold Coast Domino’s store said his son was days out from quitting.
But for Alex Edwards – clocking out for the last time and hanging up his delivery cap would never come.
Instead, the cap now rests on a makeshift shrine – built around the tree where he lost his life.
The 18-year-old was killed on Saturday when he wrapped his delivery car – a red Toyota Yaris – around a tree while on shift for Domino’s Mudgeeraba.
Now, the global food giant has weighed in on the ‘deeply saddening’ crash.
Alex died on scene just five minutes drive from the Domino’s store on Somerset Dr, Mudgeeraba.
Two male co-workers, both 17, escaped serious injury and were transported to Gold Coast University Hospital in stable conditions.
It has been a horror few days for Alex’s parents, who told the Bulletin on Monday they “never expected anything like this to happen to our baby boy”.
Friends of the teenager flooded social media with heartfelt tributes for their mate, saying he “will be greatly missed”.
Domino’s Australia have released a statement in relation to Alex’s death, and said they were “deeply saddened” by his tragic passing.
“Alex Edwards joined Domino’s Mudgeeraba just over six months ago as a delivery driver, and in that time earned the friendship and respect of his colleagues as a hardworking and valued member of our team,” the statement read.
“We will be providing support to our team members and the family and friends of all involved, including offering counselling services.”
When queried if Domino’s would be conducting a formal review into delivery processes and staff safety on roads, the company said: “Domino’s has a comprehensive training and onboarding process, including on making safe deliveries, but we also recognise that training is only one form of control measure.
“We have hundreds of team members out on the roads every single day making safe deliveries, and even one incident like this is one too many.”
Queensland Police say they are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash, and are not yet certain if speed was a factor.
Domino’s Australia said they would be providing the police with “all possible assistance with their investigation” and would “conduct a thorough internal investigation”.
“We would like to express our sincere condolences to Alex’s family and friends and ask that their privacy is respected at this extremely difficult time,” a Domino’s spokesperson said.