Swept away from Hungry Jacks: Brisbane woman, 44, latest victim of killer storms
A woman has died after apparently getting trapped in a car that became submerged in floodwaters and was swept away from a fast-food car park north of Brisbane.
But the driver managed to escape and survived.
Queensland Police are now investigating the circumstances leading to the death of the woman, 44, at Aspley, 13km north of Brisbane.
Emergency services were called after the car was swept into a creek near Lucan Avenue by fast-moving floodwaters at about 8pm on Thursday.
The driver of the vehicle, a 52-year-old Geebung man, was found alive a short time later.
A search for the woman ensued before the car was recovered from the water around 11.15pm.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The car had been swept from the car park, at the back of Hungry Jack’s, into the creek and had travelled 200 metres in the floodwaters, the ABC reported.
Police told the ABC that the car “entered floodwaters and lost traction” as it attempted to leave the carpark. It was washed more than 200m downstream where attempts to free the trapped woman were unsuccessful.
It’s the fourth flood-related death in Queensland in three weeks, with the Bureau of Meteorology saying storm activity was at its peak when the incident occurred.
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The tragedy comes after a 75-year-old woman from Taringa died when her car became submerged in floodwaters in West Brisbane as a severe storm cell lashed Queensland’s southeast.
The car was swept off a street and into a nearby creek in Pullenvale as a result of moving floodwaters about 4.40pm on Wednesday.
The state can expect more flooding with persistent rain leaving many parts of Queensland waterlogged, Deputy Premer Steven Miles said on Thursday.
“Every Queensland life lost is tragic, and tragic for the family involved,” he said.
“It won’t take a lot of rain to see flooding and we just say over and over again, if it’s flooded, forget it. It’s not worth it.”
