Finding into death of Rex William Foster
Deceased
Rex William Foster
Demographics
5y, male
Date of death
2011-09-27
Finding date
2012-06-05
Cause of death
Multiple injuries sustained in a motor vehicle incident (pedestrian)
AI-generated summary
Rex Foster, aged 5 years, died from multiple injuries sustained when struck by a heavy rigid tipper truck on the Princes Highway, Port Fairy on 27 September 2011. While crossing a bridge over Reedy Creek, Rex unexpectedly broke free from his sister and ran into the path of an oncoming truck. The driver, experienced and travelling at appropriate speed, was unable to avoid the collision. The coroner found the driver bore no responsibility. However, the coroner identified a systemic road safety issue: the bridge lacked a safe pedestrian crossing on the eastern side, forcing pedestrians and young cyclists to share an unguarded 1.2-metre strip with vehicular traffic travelling at 60 km/h. The coroner noted this was clearly unsafe and recommended urgent construction of a dedicated pedestrian footbridge as an alternative to the road bridge.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Child broke free and ran into path of vehicle
- Lack of safe pedestrian crossing on eastern side of bridge
- Inadequate physical barriers to protect pedestrians on narrow roadside strip
- Child's inability to understand traffic dangers
- Heavy vehicle traffic on arterial road through town
Coroner's recommendations
- Construction of a pedestrian footbridge across Reedy Creek to the east of and separate from the road bridge be given the highest priority
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