The Chronicle

MAN DIES IN HORRIFIC CRASH

Two fighting for life, another injured after vehicle hit tree in regional town

- MICHAEL NOLAN

A FATHER is dead and three of his mates are in hospital after the car they were travelling in left the road and hit a tree in Kingsthorp­e.

The crash occurred shortly after 12am Friday.

Paramedics called in the LifeFlight and Rescue 500 chopper teams to carry two critically injured men to hospitals in Brisbane where they remain fighting for their lives.

It was a tragic start to February with the region’s road death toll climbing to five lives lost.

A 21-YEAR-OLD Wyreema man has died and two of his mates are in hospital fighting for their lives after the vehicle they were in hit a tree at Kingsthorp­e.

The early police investigat­ion suggests they were travelling along East Street about 12.30am on Friday when their car left the road near the intersecti­on with North Street and hit a tree.

All four occupants of the car were entrapped in the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle, Thomas William Geitz, was pronounced dead at the scene, while the three passengers, aged 26, 17 and 17 and from the Oakey area, were hospitalis­ed.

The 26-year-old and one of the 17-year-olds were flown to hospital in Brisbane in critical conditions, while the other boy was transporte­d in a serious condition to Toowoomba Hospital.

Police said Forensic Crash Unit investigat­ors were looking at speed and wet weather conditions as factors that contribute­d to the crash.

The section of road was zoned at 50km/h.

Friends took to social media to mourn the young man’s passing.

“From knowing you since you were a young teenager to now a grown man, you’ll be missed,” Tanya Botten said.

“My thoughts are with the family at (this) hard time.”

“Taken way too soon, rest in peace Tommy,” Kate Hilton said.

Mr Geitz’s sister Chloe has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover his funeral costs.

“He was a young independen­t man who was a great father to a gorgeous little girl,” she said.

“He (doesn’t) deserve this, no one does.”

The Forensic Crash Unit will investigat­e the circumstan­ces the led to the fatal crash and anyone with informatio­n for police is urged to phone Policelink on 131 444.

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 ?? ?? LIFE LOST: Toowoomba father Thomas Geitz (far right) was killed in a single-vehicle crash on East Street in Kingsthorp­e on Friday. Lifeflight and the Rescue 500 aeromedica­l crews flew two passengers to hospitals in Brisbane where they remain in critical conditions.
LIFE LOST: Toowoomba father Thomas Geitz (far right) was killed in a single-vehicle crash on East Street in Kingsthorp­e on Friday. Lifeflight and the Rescue 500 aeromedica­l crews flew two passengers to hospitals in Brisbane where they remain in critical conditions.

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