Family keeps up fight

Ms Graham, 40, said the past year had been a devastating blur of emotions. “I have not even started to grieve at all after losing Mum because of the heightened sense of anxiety, anger and frustration,” she said.

“My mum was my best friend and my biggest supporter, and the only older woman role model in my life.”

Ms Hatton’s death has also left a hole in the lives of her two granddaughters, aged 12 and 13, and the young students she taught.

Ms Graham said those students were “her life”.

While the lives of their family had changed forever, the intersection where the crash occurred had stayed exactly the same despite a push for traffic lights.

The family signed a petition started by fed-up motorist David Kerr, which demanded safety upgrades to the intersection.

A letter from the Department of Transport and Main Roads to a resident in 2017, seen by the Townsville Bulletin, confirmed there were “future plans” for lights.

Last year, a spokeswoman said the upgrades were dependent on increased traffic volumes.

Three years on and changes have been made.

Ms Graham said she needed to be a voice for her mum and would not stop fighting for change.

“I know more people who have had the same issues at that intersection,” she said.

“We’ve got to slow people down … and if that saves a life it is worth it.”

A Transport and Main Roads spokesman said there was no issue with the intersection. no

“The investigation identified the intersection is designed to a safe and appropriate standard with correct signs, dedicated turning lanes and an appropriate speed limit,” he said.

The spokesman said the department would conduct a two-year planning study of the area which would review infrastructure needs, traffic capacity, and safety improvements like signs, road widening or traffic signals.