Family, friends and colleagues have been quick to pay tribute to their loved ones lost in the D’Aguilar Highway tragedy this week.
Truck drivers Adam ‘Hoffy’ Hopf, a 50-year-old father-of-two, and George Burgess, 37, died in a catastrophic collision near Nukku in the early hours of Thursday morning that has left those who knew them best reeling.
Hopf, who worked for Kingaroy-based Westlink Petroleum has been described as “one of the best on the road” and a “beautiful human taken too soon”.
Hopf’s daughters also took to social media to pay their respects.
“Dad we love you so much and would give anything to have you here with us again. We hope we make you proud in this lifetime.
“Take it easy Fuelman and have a Bundy Rum – you deserve it. Love your Darling Daughters.”
In a statement, Westlink Petroleum Managing Director Danny Kreutzer said Hopf was a much-loved father-of-two and immensely proud of being a truck driver.
“He was deeply respected across the fuel industry and held in the highest regard by all who knew him, one of the best operators you could have on our roads,” Kreutzer said.
“He was a well-known face in our region delivering fuel to farmers and local businesses year-round.
“We are devastated by this loss. Our hearts and thoughts are with the family, friends, and work colleagues of both drivers, as well as everyone involved.
“This is an incredibly distressing time which has affected us deeply and counselling has been offered to all staff.”
Kreutzer said the company is assisting authorities with any investigations.
“Westlink Petroleum is a family-owned company where safety and compliance has always been a priority.
“We have been operating for nearly two decades delivering petroleum products throughout southeast Queensland, Southern and Western Queensland, as well as northern New South Wales.”
Westlink Petroleum also operates retail service stations throughout southeast Queensland.
Burgess, a driver for Sunshine Coast based firm Daly Transport has been remembered as a ‘gentle giant’.
His manager Rosie Daly told The Gympie Times that Burgess had been with the company for about 12 months but knew the D’Aguilar Highway well.
“He would drive the road six days a week, day and night,” she said.
“I loved him, he did everything I needed him to do and was always on time. He always turned up to work and he looked after our vehicles … he was a good worker.”
Roseanne Forward, manager and daughter of company’s founder Harold Daly, also paid tribute to Burgess.
“Everyone in the business has been impacted,” she said.
Both managers said more needed to be done to improve road conditions across the state.
“The drivers are on those roads every day and every night and they are not up to scratch, something needs to be looked at,” Daly said.