Coroner's Finding: Evans, Wendy Anne
Deceased
Wendy Anne Evans
Demographics
female
Date of death
2016-07-22
Finding date
2019-05-03
Cause of death
Head and chest injuries sustained when struck by a passenger bus
AI-generated summary
Wendy Anne Evans, a Queensland police officer on holiday, was struck by a Metro Tasmania bus at the intersection of Campbell and Macquarie Streets, Hobart, sustaining fatal head and chest injuries. Both the pedestrian crossing light and traffic light turned green simultaneously, allowing Ms Evans to cross while the bus turned right. The bus driver had a substantial blind spot at the A-pillar but had ample opportunity to see Ms Evans approaching. The coroner found that had the pedestrian crossing light turned green before the traffic light, the death likely would have been prevented. Key clinical lesson: this is a traffic fatality case with unsurvivable injuries; the coroner identified a system-level issue with traffic light coordination as a contributing factor warranting urgent review.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- Simultaneous activation of pedestrian and traffic lights at the intersection
- Substantial blind spot at bus A-pillar
- Dark conditions, rain, and wet roadway
- Bus driver's failure to observe pedestrian despite opportunity to see her
Coroner's recommendations
- The Department of State Growth should urgently review the operation of the traffic and pedestrian crossing lights at the intersection of Macquarie and Campbell Streets, Hobart to ensure the pedestrian crossing light turns green prior to the traffic light
Full text
Related cases
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —