4 Family’s plea for change

THE family of a respected Brisbane doctor killed at a pedestrian blackspot he’d been campaigning to fix have spoken out for the first time.

Dr Geoff Copland was hit by an out- of- control car at a notoriously dangerous intersection in the Brisbane suburb of Annerley.

The 68- year- old was going for his daily walk when he was hit and pinned under a vehicle that flipped and rolled after a two- car collision in August.

The well- known medical administrator and GP succumbed to his horrific injuries eight days later in hospital.

The tragedy was twofold – not only had a loving father been ripped away from family but Dr Copland had spent years campaigning for safety upgrades at the very intersection which claimed his life.

The intersection is now in the sights of his daughter Jennifer Knight.

“Dad feared that someone would be killed on this road one day, we just never imagined that it would be him,” Ms Knight said. “He was very vocal about pedestrian safety and the lack of care some drivers were taking in the area.

“He’d be out counting trucks coming down the road and seeing all the people ratrunning through there.”

Ms Knight has taken up the mantle, launching a petition through Brisbane City Council to have built- up residential areas reduced to 40km/ h speed zones.

“That might not have changed anything regarding Dad’s death but drivers will have a greater sense of care if it goes ahead,” she said.

Trying to cross Venner Rd is like “playing Russian roulette with cars” and Ms Knight wants to see a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights installed and Lagonda St closed to traffic at the road.

“It’s very dangerous. I’ve seen accidents all the time for as long as I can remember and I’ve been here since 1980,” Brian Cronan said.

Ms Knight’s own push for change at the treacherous roadway is a way of dealing with the grief that will “take a long time to get over”.

She described her father, a former deputy medical superintendent at the Gold Coast Hospital, as “crazy smart and very determined” who also had a playful side.

“He was a bit of a prankster, always playing practical jokes on his grandchildren,” she said.