On the morning of Friday October 10, interstate truck driver Jason Essex was awoken to the news no parent should ever have to bear – that his 14-year-old daughter Willow Paige Gollan-Essex had been killed in a horror three-vehicle crash.
Willow had been travelling back home to Brunswick Heads from Mackay, in the passenger seat, with her 22-year-old sister Cassandra Louise Gollan-Essex behind the wheel, when they were in a three-vehicle collision, involving their Mazda CX-5, a Toyota Hilux (driven by Cassandra’s partner Brayden Fowler) and a Volvo prime mover.
Willow tragically died at the scene, while Cassandra sustained minor injuries. Brayden was uninjured.
The 31-year-old truck driver from Park Ridge was also uninjured.
The incident occurred on the Bruce Highway at Apple Tree Creek in the Bundaberg region.
According to a statement from Queensland Police, “Initial investigations indicate that just before 2am, a Volvo prime mover truck was travelling northbound on the Bruce Highway when it collided with a White Mazda CX-5 and a White Toyota Hilux both travelling in the southbound direction.” The Forensic Crash Unit is now investigating what led to the tragic accident.
Jason told Big Rigs of the moment his entire world came crashing down. “My baby girl, aged 14, was killed instantly,” he said.
“My two daughters and my son-in-law were travelling in two separate vehicles when they were struck by a truck.
“The driver gets a fine and I lose my daughter – a sister, a sister-in-law, a grandchild, that was the life of our world and she can’t come home because of the stupidity of our industry.
“I’ve seen this over and over again and until it happens to you and rips your life apart, you realise you have no power to do anything. We all look sideways.”
Jason said that Willow was a promising dance student, with the entire world ahead of her. “Willow had just been selected into an elite level of dance class. She wanted to get into dance academy,” he said.
Speaking of the dangers he sees out on the road, Jason added, “Things really need to change and all of us need to stand together once and for all – or we’ll continue to watch our world crumble and we’ll see more and more drivers walking away.”
Jason said that in his 25 years of interstate truck driving, he has watched the industry diminish due to over regulation and government bureaucracy.
“As a long-term long-haul interstate driver, I’ve covered Queensland, New South Wales, ACT, Victoria and South Australia, and so many like myself step into a truck cab on Sunday and don’t come back until the next Saturday, leaving our loved ones and our entire families behind – with our families only hoping and praying that we come back home safely.
“My wife doesn’t want me to go back to work in the truck and neither does my son but where we live there isn’t any other work in this area, so I have no choice.
“I used to love getting in the truck. I’ve always driven Kenworths – I went from the smaller trucks and moved up to the bigger ones. Now I don’t want to do it anymore, I’ve come to hate trucks because the industry is horrendous.
“I myself, along with so many other drivers have either come across one of these accidents or have had it happen to one of us. Our voices have been ignored by government officials and regulators. Too many companies sweep it under the rug – they pay the fine, replace the truck and put a new driver in the seat tomorrow, like it never happened.”
Through all the raw heartache, Jason told Big Rigs that he doesn’t want the loss of his beautiful daughter to be in vain.
He is calling on governments and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to do more to help improve the safety of the industry and all road users.
“The whole industry needs a shake-up. We badly need to see changes in this industry and if the loss of my baby girl Willow Paige is why, then her unfortunate and senseless death has a reason and a purpose,” Jason said.
Investigators are appealing for anyone with further information or relevant footage of the incident to contact police.