Photo of the scene where three people were killed in a horror crash at Bonogin Rd, Queensland. Christopher Fawcett, 79, Susan Zimmer, 70, and her daughter Stephanie Zimmer, 35 died. Uiatu Taufua, 46, the mother of rugby league player Payne Haas survived. Picture: Facebook/News.com.au
Photo of the scene where three people were killed in a horror crash at Bonogin Rd, Queensland. Christopher Fawcett, 79, Susan Zimmer, 70, and her daughter Stephanie Zimmer, 35 died. Uiatu Taufua, 46, the mother of rugby league player Payne Haas survived. Picture: Facebook/News.com.au
Three people have been killed, and the mother of a Brisbane Broncos player is in hospital after a horror crash on the Gold Coast.
All three occupants of a silver Mercedes, two women and a man from the same family, died at the scene of the collision, while Uiatu “Joan”Taufua, the mother of Broncos forward Payne Haas and sole occupant of the other vehicle, was taken to hospital with “numerous fractures” but in a stable condition.
Emergency services were called to the collision around 5pm Friday on Bonogin Rd in Bonogin, with the silver Mercedes knocked from the road into a power pole, trapping the driver and two passengers.
Two of the three people were freed from the vehicle by officers and given first aid but sadly the entire trio died at the scene, a Queensland Police spokesperson said.
The black Mercedes, allegedly driven by Ms Taufua, caught fire, with the 46-year-old Bonogin woman freed from her car by police.
Ms Taufua was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital, where she is being treated for multiple fractures, internal injuries and bruised lungs.
Gold Coast District Officer Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon said on Saturday police had tried to intercept the black Mercedes only moments before the crash, after they noticed it allegedly driving erratically.
Brisbane Bronco Payne Haas let the world know what he thinks of his mum in an emotional post that appeared shortly after she was jailed for assault in September 2022. Image / Instagram
No charges have been laid, but police allege Ms Taufua was seen in a black Mercedes wagon “driving erratically” a short time before the crash and allegedly sped off when a patrol car attempted to intercept her after activating lights and sirens.
Ms Taufua was allegedly driving with a suspended licence at the time of the tragedy.
She had only weeks ago been released from jail in October after serving a month in custody for assaulting two security guards at the Star Gold Coast casino.
No pursuit was launched, but the officers were flagged down by a passing motorist just minutes later alerting them to the horrific scene unfolding 1km down the road.
“Local police were doing patrols on an open road and their attention was drawn to a black Mercedes driving erratically,” Chief Superintendent Hanlon alleged.
Payne Haas of the Broncos. Photo / Getty
“Police provided lights and sirens and attempted to intercept this vehicle, however the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle evaded police, and police made the decision because of the conduct of the driver not to engage in a pursuit.
“The police vehicle subsequently stopped at that location in compliance with our policy.”
A short time later, members of the public alerted the police officers in the stationary vehicle that the Mercedes had collided with another vehicle about one kilometre up the road.
The collision was a “tragic, tragic” incident and a heavily confronting scene for emergency services and bystanders, Chief Superintendent Hanlon said.
“It’s frustrating for police and all emergency services who have to continually go to these incidents where had drivers done the right thing, these matters might not have occurred,” he said.
Chief Superintendent Hanlon said Ms Taufua remained in hospital and had not yet spoken with police, and that investigatons into the circumstances of the crash were ongoing.
He called for anyone with dashcam footage to come forward or information to contact Queensland Police.
Ethical Standards Command would investigate the incident due to the involvement of police’s pursuit policy, while a report will be prepared for the State Coroner.
