GRIEVING FAMILIES CALL FOR HIGHWAY OVERHAUL

I COUNTED today at least 10 crosses and memorial sites on the notorious 30km stretch of North West Coastal Highway from Karratha to Roebourne.
As there are none on the 10km stretch past the Nickol River crossing heading into Karratha, that’s one death for every two kilometres of bitumen.
Chalk and debris still mark the sites of the two most recent road tragedies which claimed four young lives since March 16.
Grieving families and friends were here again today. Adding to the tributes, flowers, panda bears, angel statuettes, photographs, seashells, beer cans and solar-powered panels to keep memories of their loved ones lit at night.
The single lane highway is used by local traffic, heavy haulage vehicles and, this time of year, convoys of camper vans and caravans cruising the well-used road Pilbara residents say should have been built as a double carriageway long ago.
This important link road is used by residents in Karratha, Roebourne, Wickham and Point Samson and surrounding industry whose expansion in recent decades has resulted in increased vehicle use while road repairs and maintenance have not kept up.
And with industry vehicles set at 100kmh, not 110kmh, locals and visitors place themselves at risk when they need to overtake. There are only two overtaking lanes, one of which near Rio Tinto’s rail crossing planners decided to build on a 90kmh bend where numerous close scrapes have occurred.
Ngaarda Media CEO Tangiora Hinaki told StreetWise the community wanted urgent changes and upgrades to this dangerous stretch of highway she said had seen too many fatalities in recent years. Many businesses in Roebourne were closed today as grieving families and friends attended “sorry business”.
On May 23, Ms Hinaki lost her 29-year-old niece in a double fatality on the Roebourne side of Rio’s rail crossing near the Cheeritha Road turn-off: “We’re not even halfway through 2025 and already, to my knowledge, we’ve lost four young people with ties to our community on that road.”
Her niece Dakota Wikitoria Tahi Tahi was killed after the Toyota Prado station wagon she was driving collided with a Toyota Hilux ute whose 21-year-old male driver also died at the scene.
Four passengers in the Prado including Ms Hinaki’s three daughters, the youngest 13, were taken to hospital with serious injuries. Her older daughter owned the Prado but Dakota had insisted on driving to make up for the times she had been driven around.
Ms Hinaki said debris was strewn across the road when she arrived at the horrific scene, her distraught daughter having sent her a text: “Mum, get here now. We rolled. It’s bad.”
Emotional and still dealing with the tragedy, Ms Hinaki today visited the young man’s family to share their grief. She also provided support for the families of two teenagers who died on March 16.
“Dakota loved life,” Ms Hinaki told StreetWise. “She had just met somebody.”
Ms Hinaki said she wanted to see physical safety measures such as median barriers and extra overtaking lanes.
“This is our main road. Everyone in Karratha, Wickham, Point Samson and we all use it daily. There are crosses all along that highway. Too many families have suffered.”

Roadside remembrance

THIS became sadly clear when StreetWise visited the roadside reminders of why inattention, fatigue and speed can kill.
Two sites on the Karratha side of Rio’s rail crossing include a silver steel cross with no name, the fading plastic flowers and beer cans suggesting it was erected and possibly visited some years ago.
Just a few metres away, as if lightning had struck twice on this remote stretch of road, is an impressive polished marble marker that honours: “Pedro. Farewell brother. Fly like an eagle.”
A single seashell placed at its base suggests a recent visit. StreetWise was told Pedro was a boilermaker whose Harley hit a kangaroo while travelling home at night from Karratha to Roebourne.
Near the Cleaverville Road turn-off, it is difficult not to notice the newly erected memorial for Ethan, 17, and Dennis, 16.
The teenagers were killed just before dawn on March 16 this year when their motorcycle collided with a utility travelling in the opposite direction from Karratha to Roebourne. The driver was not injured.
Last year, a 33-year-old Derby man was charged with manslaughter after a head-on collision near the Cleaverville Road turn-off on September 4, 2024. A male passenger in his car, aged in his 50s, died at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle was taken to Karratha Health Campus with serious injuries. The second fatality occurred in June last year at the Cheeritha turn-off closer to Roebourne, not far from the May 23 fatalities.
Not so obvious as I continue towards Karratha is a small white cross near the March 16 deaths that is easy to miss except it stands out against the red ground to which it was anchored. Its name plaque has faded away.
The next memorial is more obvious but unrelated to a road death. ‘Santa Rock’ commemorates mother of two and nurse Dahnne Dray who died in 2010. In the 1970s, Dahnne and her late husband Tony were traveling across Australia when they were moved by a Santa painted on rock in a paddock near Broken Hill.
In the late 1990s when they moved to Wickham, they searched for the perfect Santa rock and found it 16km west of Roebourne.
Every year, Dahnne would paint the rock to resemble Santa and decorate the surrounding trees with festive tinsel. A plaque was erected here after she died of breast cancer and tinsel still decorates the spiny wattles at her roadside memorial which also appears on Google Earth.
If you did not know Dahnne’s story, most motorists including StreetWise would conclude it marked a road fatality and, hopefully, slow down. It worked.
Her son Taygen last year posted: “Thank you so much for the recognition of my mum. I was until recently lucky enough to be able to set Santa up but good friends of mine continue the legacy today. Thank you to everyone who enjoys Santa every year!”
A few kilometres closer to Karratha, family and friends maintain a solar-powered memorial for 41-year-old Tammie Katreana Cindy Borinelli – Teehan who died of ‘catastrophic injuries’ on September 18, 2022, when her Mitsubishi ASX collided with a wide load truck travelling in the opposite direction.
In June the same year, a 66-year-old woman died on Cleaverville Road, that runs off North West Coastal Highway, when her Suzuki Grand Vitara veered off the road and struck a light pole about 7.25am. She died in Karratha hospital.
A few hundred metres away from Tammie’s memorial, just before the Nickol River crossing, a timber cross erected in 2018 for Simon James marks the 10th memorial site StreetWise visited on this highway of sadness.

Social media reaction:

1. Christopher James: “The Police Commissioner and the Commander in charge of traffic should be put on notice, what are they doing to reduce the road toll?”
2. Lynette Paikea: “That stretch of road from Roebourne to Karratha’s is notorious for accidents. If people would just drive by the rules we wouldn’t have so many fatalities. Yet another lot of families will be grieving for their loved ones and tending to the broken.”
3. James Lee: “Lynette Paikea totally agree, as a truck driver on that stretch daily I see some crazy stuff. Nothing wrong with the road, just the motorists on it. Condolence’s to the families, no winners and just lives destroyed all over, such sadness.”
4. Tracey Thompson: “To the family and friends of the deceased and injured my heartfelt condolences are with you all at this time. I am so sorry to hear of this heartbreaking loss. My heart is aching for you all.
5. Brodie Newman: “This is the 5th and 6th fatal death on this road in the last 12 months that I can recall. There needs to be more overtaking lanes on this road. Very sad.”
6. Dools Daws: Brodie Newman some are criminal activity (stolen vehicles speeding) and people doing the wrong thing. Impatient drivers and just plain idiots. Medical episodes or mechanical failure causes accidents. Nothing wrong with the road. No matter how any of these fatalities occur it is truly heartbreaking for all family, friends, first responders, and hospital staff. And the community feels it too.”
7. Emer Healy: “Amy M. Brennan people go 150kms plus on these roads, we’re new here and it shocked me. RIP to the victims.
8. Amy M. Brennan: “Emer Healy yeah some are in a rush to get from A to B. It’s scary to count how many crosses we have between Roebourne and Karratha and there are a few missing. I can count at least 3 or 4 extra accidents that have not go crosses. There are definitely places for improvements on that long section of road. A big one being at the Cheeditha turn off. They did some work widening the road access, but by peanuts and it helps no-one. They need to put in a long overtaking section of road to eliminate people stopping, over taking on the wrong side (witnessed) and going left onto the dirt to over take a turning vehicle. Too many people in a rush, too many people drive tired after coming off night shift. There are many different things.”
9. Lenore Small: “How many more fatalities do we have to have on this road before the Government realises this highway between Karratha and Roebourne should be a dual highway all the way for the amount of traffic.”
10. Mia Bates: “Lenore Small I completely agree I’ve been driving that stretch of road for 13 years now and I have had two very close calls because people try to overtake trucks at stupid spots or they’re in too much of a hurry and don’t pay attention fully to what we’re doing and for some it’s the last mistake they will every make unfortunately. In those 13 years I would say there’s been at least 10-plus crosses added to that stretch of road.”