< back to Isabelle's blogChanges needed to be made

Because of the circumstances associated with the accident which killed my son, lack of signage, poor lighting, no safety barriers etc I decided to try to make it better for future travellers.

I made sure the accident was always in the public eye by making sure there were flowers on the bridge continually.It was even mentioned on 'Big ...   .......', Adelaide Radio Talk Back  show, where he suggested we should "get over the death and stop putting flowers on the bridge - that is was an insult to others to have to look at them all the time:"  I was not about to stop with the reminders until something was done.

I wrote to all the papers and outlined the areas of concern regarding the bridge and managed to get a few stories published. I contacted the Adelaide City Council and out lined what I determined as their 'duty of care' to community using that bridge.

When I originally rang the council to ask why there were no bollards there - they told me that because it was a heritage bridge - it wouldn't be 'aesthetically pleasing' to place bollards there!!- I told them it wasn't asthetically pleasing to have three young men die there either!!!

The head of Road Accident Research at Adelaide University contacted me and told me he had been asking for the bridge to be upgraded for years - and it wasn't the only bridge in Adelaide that did not comply with 'National Safety standards. He was happy to testify if I decided to take the matter further.

I would have liked to sue the Adelaide City Council for negligence, but I did not have the energy at the time and I knew they would  dig up any negative stories  they could findabout the three young men who were killed that day to negate their responsibility.

If it had been three old ladies who had been killed there would have been a public outcry at the lack of safety in place but because it was three young men - public belief was such that they were probably at fault, drunk or similar, which they weren't.

Finally, work started on upgrading the bridge and we were asked to attend the opening, an invitation we politely declined.

They had removed all traces of any memorial which had been left at the bridge, so that the upgrade opf the bridge couldn't be linked to the deaths which happened there. So the night before the opening I collected every flower I could find and tied them to the brigdge with a big white ribbon - it was a silent but powerful reminder of the tragedy with happened there.

Years later another car failed to take the bend, but the occupants were saved from plunging into the water. Out of the blue a woman rang me to say she had wanted to ring for years but had been afraid that she might upset me.  Her sons had been in the car which had failed to take the bend- and she wanted to thank me for helping to get bollards at the bridge- as they had saved their lives.

I am still in 'no man's land' when it comes to my son's death. He was my first born, doing Honours in International Politics at Adelaide University, a charismatic, wonderful human being.

Over 1000 people attended his funeral and signed the memorial book. He had touched so many people in his 22 years.

What a waste of a life!

Written on 08 Apr 2010
Tags: campaign