‘I will always love sister I never had’
THE brother of the groom who lost his new wife in Hamilton Island’s honeymoon tragedy has written a heartfelt tribute about the family’s heartbreak.
Marina Morgan, from Sydney, died when the golf buggy she was in rolled as her husband Robbie attempted to do a U-turn when they realised the battery-powered vehicle was running out of charge.
Marina, 29, was three days into the couple’s island honeymoon when she fell from the buggy as it rolled.
“To Marina, the sister I never had, we are truly heartbroken by your loss,” Robbie’s brother Matty wrote in a heartfelt tribute.
“From the moment I met you, I knew you were the one for my brother.
“Your kind, gentle nature is a testament to the type of person you are, and is proof that the good die young.
“May your soul rest in paradise for all of eternity as you watch over us in the heavens above.
“I love you forever sis. Rest in peace.”
Marina died on Monday afternoon, just days after the couple’s elaborate Sydney wedding. It is understood they had been staying at the island’s most luxurious resort, Qualia.
The island’s on-duty paramedic was on the scene within minutes but Marina could not be saved.
“(She) was in cardiac arrest and along with a number of first aiders on the island – an off-duty dentist, off-duty fire officer, and doctor from the island – performed resuscitation for 35 minutes without success,” QAS acting director Mackay District Graeme Mcintyre said.
“When paramedics arrived, the patient had been removed from the roadway
and placed to the side of the road and … in the lateral position to clear her airway, which is absolutely fantastic for first aiders to do.”
Mr Mcintyre said there were two paramedics stationed on Hamilton Island at any time on shift rotation. One was on duty at the time of the rollover.
A Townsville-based rescue helicopter was initially tasked to the island, but was stood down because of the severity of Marina’s injuries.
Inspector Anthony Cowan said this week that early investigations suggested the buggy’s battery had
gone flat when the driver did a U-turn and the vehicle rolled.
“There’s no indication of alcohol or dangerous driving, it’s just … tragic that the golf buggy, maybe through inexperience driving those types of vehicles while turning, has rolled on its side,” he said.
“Unfortunately the female has fallen out and sustained life-threatening injuries.
“It appears they were travelling, the battery on the golf buggy may have gone flat and he’s conducted a Uturn to go back and charge it up.”