Finding into death of Tara Jones
Deceased
Tara Jones
Demographics
9y, female
Date of death
2012-11-27
Finding date
2015-08-19
Cause of death
Multiple injuries sustained in a motor vehicle incident (passenger)
AI-generated summary
A 9-year-old girl died from multiple injuries sustained as an unrestrained passenger in the rear sleeping cabin of a prime mover truck during a motor vehicle collision on a steep, winding section of the Glenelg Highway. The truck was travelling at an estimated minimum of 111 km/h when it lost stability while cornering, subsequently rolling down an embankment. The child's parents, both adults, were also unrestrained. The coroner found the death eminently preventable, emphasizing that neither adult wore seatbelts and the two young children in the sleeping cabin were unrestrained. While mechanical issues contributed minimally, the primary failure was the parents' inadequate restraint of child passengers during vehicle transit. The coroner recommended legislative amendments to either prohibit children from travelling in truck sleeper cabs while in motion or mandate approved restraint systems.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Child unrestrained in truck sleeping cabin during vehicle transit
- Vehicle travelling at excessive speed (minimum 111 km/h) for cornering conditions
- High centre of gravity of livestock-laden trailers affecting vehicle stability
- Loss of vehicle stability during right-hand curve negotiation
- Reduced braking capacity of vehicle
- Road design with steep descent, sharp curves, and single lanes
Coroner's recommendations
- Victorian Government consider legislative changes to the Road Rules either to prohibit passengers, in particular children, from sitting in the sleeper cab of trucks while the vehicle is in motion, or alternatively, to specifically require the fitting and use of approved child restraints or approved seatbelts in sleeper cabs, unless covered by the Rule 267(7) exemption.
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 —