How tragedy still impacts family
DOMINIC ELSOME
A TWO-year-old boy doesn’t understand why, almost 12 months on, his father has not come home.
Every time a motorbike passes the family’s house, Noah yells “Daddy”, eagerly awaiting the return of his father Shaun Reina.
But tragically, Shaun isn’t coming home.
The Gatton husband and father-of-three was killed in a motorbike accident on July 12 last year, at the intersection of Gatton-Laidley Rd and Eastern Drive.
His commute from work at
Barden’s Produce to his home should have taken only minutes.
Instead, his family misses their kind-hearted, caring Shaun.
Shaun’s father Michael Reina says the loss of his son is still tough on the whole family, and continues to push the I See U campaign, set up in his son’s honour.
This Fatality Free Friday, Michael is pleading for drivers to take care on the roads, and “look twice for bikes”.
Despite traffic considerably reduced in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic, data from Transport and Main Roads revealed a worrying rise in fatalities compared to the same time last year.
Nine more people have died on Queensland roads this year in the past 12 months, compared to 2019.
The scary statistic brought home sad memories for Michael.
He said the pain of losing a loved one on the roads never ended.
“It’s really traumatising … A day doesn’t do by where you don’t think about it,” Michael said.
“The loss to families - it never goes away.”
Shaun was called “the granny” for the way he rode his motorcycle - always safe, never risky.
Gatton Star