Geraldton traffic cop pleads for Mid West-Gascoyne drivers to be responsible after horror 2024 road toll

In 2024, 13 people died on roads in the Mid West-Gascoyne region — almost double the seven deaths recorded in 2023. It soared past the region’s five-year average, which sits at nine. Last year was the deadliest year on the State’s roads since 2016, with 186 deaths — four of them within six hours on New Year’s Eve. The local road toll was looking favourable at the first half of 2024, with no deaths recorded until May 26, when 19-year-old Alexx Wright was killed in an alleged hit-and-run on Indian Ocean Drive in Jurien Bay. At least one person died every month thereafter in 2024 in the Mid West-Gascoyne. In August, three people lost their lives in a car rollover in Yalgoo, including a five-week-old baby boy. Gabrielle Brockman, 21, her aunty Marrika Brockman, 33, and Marrika’s son Levi were travelling back from a funeral in Meekatharra with three others when the ute they were in rolled on Geraldton-Mt Magnet Road. Other reported deaths last year, including the a crash in Cooljarloo which killed Jurien Bay Country Women’s Association members Coral Seinor, 83, and Thelma Clausen, 82, were outside the Mid West-Gascoyne district, and not included in the region’s road toll. Geraldton police district traffic co-ordinator Sgt Beau Jones said it was a concerning year for fatal incidents on WA roads, with many Mid West-Gascoyne families left with holes in their hearts. He said the “fatal five” — speeding, impaired driving, no restraints or safety gear, distracted driving, and fatigue — were factors in many fatal and serious crashes in the district, and local police would continue to increase their presence on roads and target poor driver behaviour. “Every driver needs to carefully think about the decisions they make, whether it relates to speed, alcohol or driver distraction, as each of those decisions could have fatal consequences,” he said. “While WA Police will continue to maintain a strong presence on the roads, ultimately road safety is everyone’s responsibility.” Sgt Jones said it was everyone’s responsibility to be safe behind the wheel and ensure 2025 was not a repeat of last year’s decade-high road toll. “Unfortunately, WA Police cannot have a police officer on every street and highway 24 hours a day,” he said. “It’s up to the community to stand up and say ‘enough is enough’. We need families and friends to be speaking to each other about road safety, and to call out these unsafe and dangerous driving behaviours, particularly with young inexperienced drivers, which time and again are identified as contributing factors to the State’s road toll.” Geraldton police encourage anyone with dashcam or video footage of poor driver behaviour to report it with a traffic complaint form, available at wa.gov.au/service/security/law-enforcement/report-hoondangerous-driving Deaths on Mid West-Gascoyne roads in 2024 May 26: Alexx Wright, 19, Indian Ocean Drive in Jurien Bay June 6: Male cyclist, 61, Brand Highway in South Greenough July 8: Female driver, 18, Canover Road in Jurien Bay July 13: Male driver, 73, North West Coastal Highway, Howatharra July 14: Male driver, 62, Indian Ocean Drive, Jurien Bay August 7: Male driver, 36, North West Coastal Highway, Eurardy August 10: Gabrielle Brockman, 21, Marrika Brockman, 33, and five-week-old Levi Ashwin, Geraldton-Mt Magnet Road, Yalgoo September 22: Male driver, 20, Cockleshell Gully Road, Warradarge October 2: Female passenger, Minilya Exmouth Road, Lyndon November 3: Male driver, 63, Mt Magnet-Leinster Road, Paynesville December 30: Female driver, 26, Northampton Kalbarri Road, Yallabatharra