Queensland triple-0 dispatcher unknowingly answered emergency call of sister’s fatal Rockhampton crash
‘She was my best friend. I didn’t want to believe it.’
An ambulance dispatcher has spoken of the unimaginable moment she unknowingly answered the triple-0 call about a fatal crash involving her sister.
Charlie Rose Vincent was killed in a head-on crash near Rockhampton on July 11, becoming one of 170 people to lose their lives on Queensland roads this year — 27 more than at the same time last year.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Dispatcher answered sister’s fatal triple-0 call
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Katie Paskins is one of the voices Queenslanders hear on some of the worst days of their lives, answering emergency triple-0 calls for the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS).
She never imagined one of those calls would involve her own family.
“She was my best friend. I didn’t want to believe it,” she told 7NEWS.
It was only after finishing her shift Paskins realised the emergency call she had taken was about her sister.
“I didn’t even know it was her till I left work that day,” she said.
Their father, Jason Vincent, described the devastating moment he learned Charlie had died.
“Just like someone put their hand in my chest and ripped my heart out,” he said.
Charlie is one of 19 people killed on Queensland roads in just the past three weeks, as the state’s road toll continues to climb.
Police bodycam footage released this week captured a string of dangerous road incidents, including a father allegedly driving with his young daughter unsecured in the back seat before allegedly returning a positive roadside test for methamphetamine.
Elsewhere, a 25-year-old driver was allegedly detected travelling at 102km/h in a 60km/h zone on Brisbane’s Sandgate Road before being hit with a $1119 fine, eight demerit points and a six-month licence suspension.
Near Townsville, police also stopped a driver allegedly travelling 40km/h over the speed limit.
Road safety experts say fewer visible police patrols in recent years have contributed to some motorists taking greater risks behind the wheel, believing they are less likely to be caught.
Queensland Police data shows the hours officers spend on road safety operations, including breath testing and speed enforcement, dropped sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic before beginning to climb again, with more than half a million hours logged last year.
“You’re seeing these hours increase because we’re putting a greater emphasis and will continue to do so,” Assistant Commissioner Rhys Wildman said.
RACQ spokesperson Josh Cooney warned Queensland’s road toll was approaching levels not seen for decades.
“We’re heading into numbers that haven’t been seen for probably over twenty years,” he said.
For Charlie’s family, those statistics are deeply personal.
Behind every road death, they say, is a family left to live with unimaginable loss.
Originally published on 7NEWS
