Tribute for teen victim
Community rallies for beloved student killed in highway tragedy
A SCHOOL community is mourning the loss of a “beloved senior” who died in a horror crash as her family returned home from holidays.
Olivia Harwood, 17, died after a three-vehicle crash on the Warrego Highway at Oakey about 9.15am on Tuesday.
Her parents Allan, 48, and Beverley, 44, were both airlifted to Brisbane hospitals and are undergoing medical treatment.
Olivia was in her final year at Rockhampton Girls Grammar School and a house captain.
School principal Christine Hills described Olivia as “a young woman of immense talent and creativity with a world of possibility in front of her”.
“Our thoughts are with her family at this time,” she said.
“The school has immediately set into place support networks for our girls – past and present as we face the days ahead.
“Rockhampton Girls Grammar wishes to thank the schools in Rockhampton and Yeppoon who have offered support people at this tragic time.
“We pray for the family.” Preliminary investigations into the crash indicate a semitrailer travelling east along the highway collided with a utility, also travelling east.
The crash pushed the ute into oncoming traffic and into the path of the Harwood family’s sedan.
The driver and sole occupant of the dual cab, a 36-yearold Oakey man, was taken to Toowoomba Hospital for treatment.
The driver of the semi-trailer, a 35-year-old man from Victoria, was not physically injured.
The forensic crash unit is investigating.