Finding into death of Tony Fishwick
Deceased
Tony Fishwick
Demographics
39y, male
Date of death
2009-06-02
Finding date
2010-12-23
Cause of death
Injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision (driver)
AI-generated summary
Tony Fishwick, a 39-year-old engineer, died when his vehicle lost control on a rural bend at excessive speed in wet conditions and collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle. He was travelling at 123–140 kph around a bend rated for lower speeds, on a wet road contaminated with mud and debris from nearby trucking operations. Expert reconstruction confirmed the speed was at or beyond critical limits for wet conditions; recovery after losing control was virtually impossible. The coroner found excessive speed in prevailing conditions was the primary cause. Key clinical lesson: this is a preventable road fatality resulting from human factors (speed selection) and environmental hazards (road design, visibility, contamination). The coroner recommended speed limit reduction, sight line improvement, better road markings and signage, and drainage improvements to address ongoing dangers at this location.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Excessive speed (123–140 kph) at time of loss of control
- Wet road conditions
- Road contamination with mud and debris from trucking operations
- Road undulations limiting sightlines
- Bend geometry not suitable for 100 kph in wet conditions
- Poor visibility due to clump of trees obstructing sightline
- Inadequate road markings and signage
- Pooling of water on road surface
Coroner's recommendations
- Reduce speed limit from 100 kph to 80 kph for appropriate distance leading up to Pisconeri's for vehicles travelling in either direction
- Remove or substantially thin the clump of trees on the northern side of Dow Avenue at the eastern end of Pisconeri's to improve line of sight
- Paint unbroken white line down the centre of the road prior to and around the bend to delineate carriageways
- Add more guide posts to further delineate the bend
- Place warning sign of trucks entering highway ahead (east of bend for westbound traffic; west of Pisconeri's for eastbound traffic)
- Improve drainage on northern edge of bitumen road surface adjacent to Pisconeri's parking area to prevent water pooling during heavy rainfall
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 —