Driver
flees,
disabled
woman
trapped
after
crash
Jacqui
Clatworthy
19Jan08
A
MAN
believed
to
be
associated
with
the
Finks
motorcycle
gang
fled
an
Eagle
Heights
accident
in
which
a
disabled
woman
was
severely
injured
and
trapped
after
he
crashed
a
luxury
Mercedes
Benz
into
another
car.
Two
women
were
left
behind
in
the
Mazda
323
Astina
involved
in
the
head-on
collision
with
a
Mercedes
Benz
sedan
linked
to
prominent
Fink
Gregory
John
Keating
on
Tamborine-Oxenford
Road
around
6.45am.
Bruce
Thorsby,
who
was
driving
in a
van
behind
the
Mercedes,
said
he
saw
the
man
approach
the
vehicle
after
the
collision
before
leaving
the
scene.
"He
did
go
over
and
ask
how
these
people
were,"
said
Mr
Thorsby.
"He
was
straightaway
on
the
phone."
"I
went
up
the
road
to
slow
the
cars
down
but
the
guy
driving
the
Merc
just
wandered
away."
The
52-year-old
Mazda
driver
had
minor
injuries
but
her
31-year-old
daughter,
who
has
spina
bifida,
had
multiple
fractures.
It
took
more
than
an
hour
for
authorities
to
pull
the
disabled
woman
from
the
wreckage
at
the
remote,
Hinterland
site.
An
ambulance
crew
then
rushed
the
women
to
the
Gold
Coast
Hospital
for
treatment.
Mr
Thorsby
had
tried
to
warn
the
driver
and
the
oncoming
car
of
the
looming
danger
after
observing
him
swerve
erratically.
"The
driver
of
the
Kompressor
was
twice
looking
toward
the
passenger
seat
and
veering
off
the
road,"
said
Mr
Thorsby.
"He
was
on
the
wrong
side
of
the
road
for
30m.
"I
tried
to
alert
them
by
beeping
the
horn
but
they
ploughed
straight
into
each
other."
Constable
David
Paddock
from
Coomera
Police
Station
said
the
Mercedes
was
linked
to
the
Finks
organisation.
"We
don't
know
who
the
driver
is,
however
the
car
relates
back
to a
bikie
organisation
(the
Finks),"
said
Constable
Paddock.
Items
belonging
to
Mr
Keating
were
found
in
the
car
including
a
traffic
infringement
notice
for
travelling
at
120km/h
and
a
letter
addressed
to
Mr
Keating
from
Caldicott
&
Co,
a
legal
firm
in
Brighton,
South
Australia.
Mr
Keating
is
remanded
in
custody
after
allegedly
slashing
a
Gold
Coast
man
in
the
face
with
a
broken
bottle
at
the
Berlin
Bar,
Surfers
Paradise,
on
Christmas
Eve.
There
is a
possibility
the
driver
was
looking
after
the
car
on
Mr
Keating's
behalf.
The
front
man
for
the
motorcycle
club
is
still
under
investigation
for
his
alleged
role
in
the
'ballroom
blitz'
shooting
involving
Finks
and
Hells
Angels
members
in
2006.
Mr
Thorsby
said
he
believed
the
male
driver
was
speeding
when
collision
occurred.
"He
wasn't
moving
that
fast
but
he
was
probably
10km/h
over
the
limit,"
said
Mr
Thorsby.
After
hearing
Mr
Thorsby
beep
the
horn
on
his
van
and
a
'big
thud',
local
resident
Chris
Ford
raced
out
to
the
scene.
"I
was
getting
ready
for
work,"
he
said.
"I
saw
the
young
driver
who
fled;
he
walked
off
up
the
road
with
a
packet
of
cigarettes
and
a
phone
in
his
hand.
"There
was
so
much
activity
here
that
we
did
not
realise
he
was
the
driver
of
the
Merc."
Another
Eagle
Heights
resident,
Kevin
Litchfield,
brought
towels
out
to
the
trapped
victim.
"Every
day
people
are
speeding,"
said
Mr
Litchfield.
"Even
when
we
were
stopping
the
traffic
(for
the
accident)
people
didn't
want
to
stop."
The
father
of
four
said
many
accidents
occurred
along
the
leafy
stretch.
"Every
one
of
our
neighbours
has
told
the
police
to
put
a
camera
here,"
he
said.
"We
get
trucks
along
here
at
100km/h
plus
and
coaches
doing
100km/h
plus.
"We
were
going
to
get
together
and
put
signs
along
the
road
saying
'slow
down'."
A
senior
constable
at
the
scene
said
he
had
attended
a
fatal
accident
at
the
same
spot
five
years
ago.
The
speed
limit
on
the
stretch,
which
dips
at
one
point
and
is
close
to a
pub,
is
60km/h.
Two
male
motorcyclists
died
in
separate
accidents
on
Tamborine-Oxenford
Road
last
year.
Police
described
the
driver
as
being
in
his
late
20s
to
early
30s
and
about
183cm
tall,
with
short
black
hair
and
an
olive
complexion.
He
was
last
seen
wearing
a
black
T-shirt
with
white
writing
on
it
and
black
jeans
as
he
walked
along
Tolima
Drive.