Crowley, Byron James and Davis, Bernard Ashton
Deceased
Byron James Crowley; Bernard Ashton Davis
Date of death
2015-07-31; 2015-09-30
Finding date
2017-10-19
Cause of death
Byron Crowley: fractured spine sustained in motor vehicle accident when car struck dead horse on Bruce Highway; Bernard Davis: chest trauma sustained in motorcycle collision with feral horse
AI-generated summary
Two deaths occurred on the Bruce Highway near Townsville when vehicles collided with feral horses from adjacent state forest. Bernard Davis (43) died from chest trauma after his motorcycle struck a live horse; Byron Crowley (15) died from spinal fracture when the car he was in struck a dead horse. Both incidents were preventable through better inter-agency coordination and risk management. Key failures included: inadequate information-sharing between Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service (QPWS), Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), Queensland Police Service (QPS), and Townsville City Council; lack of formal risk assessment by road managers despite known hazards; and delayed implementation of fencing and culling programs. The coroner identified that QPS data showed significantly higher animal-incident frequencies than recorded by TMR, indicating poor information gathering. Recommendations focus on developing a joint management plan with clear roles, responsibilities, coordinated data-sharing protocols, formal risk assessments, and stratified control measures.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- Presence of feral horses straying from Clemant State Forest onto Bruce Highway
- Inadequate containment fencing on state forest boundary
- Delayed implementation of fencing and culling programs by QPWS
- Poor information-sharing and coordination between QPWS, TMR, QPS, and Townsville City Council
- TMR did not maintain comprehensive records of animal incidents and hazards
- Lack of formal risk assessment methodology applied to animal hazards on highways
- Low visibility of horses on roadside during night driving (Davis case)
- Driver impairment: Davis travelled at excessive speed (114-133 km/h in 100 km/h zone) with blood alcohol three times legal limit and cannabis use; Crowley's mother impaired by methamphetamine
- Byron Crowley not wearing seatbelt
Coroner's recommendations
- Transport and Main Roads as lead agency, together with Townsville City Council and Queensland Police Service, develop and implement a trial joint management plan to manage the risk to road users from animals on roads, addressing: (a) Roles, responsibilities and powers covering each scenario (local or state controlled road); (b) Information/data gathering, analysis and reporting protocols; (c) Communications protocols including identification of key personnel and contacts, regular meetings and minutes arising; (d) Risk assessment methodology to be applied; (e) A stratified/escalating approach to control measures commensurate with the assessed risk; (f) Processes for engaging with landowners and other stakeholders
- Transport and Main Roads consider the outcomes from the trial and the potential for wider application of like arrangements throughout Queensland
- QPWS review the potential for a separate line of funding, or better criteria and weight in an existing line of funding, so that risk of harm to people on roads adjacent to land it manages is mitigated appropriately. As a road manager, Transport and Main Roads or Council should share its information and risk assessments, fixing QPWS with relevant knowledge of the risk emanating from its land and collaborate on developing, funding and implementing control measures to mitigate that risk
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