Heart ‘ripped to shreds’: mother witnesses horror crash
Savannah Meacham |
A mother says her heart has been “ripped to shreds” after witnessing a fiery crash that killed her fiance and two young children on a remote highway.
Renee Jenkins was in a vehicle travelling behind a car carrying her partner Shaun Ranger and kids Baylee, 7, and six-year-old Chandler when tragedy struck in central Queensland.
Mr Ranger, the two children and another male passenger were killed when their Holden Commodore collided head-on with a Toyota Hilux ute carrying two people in the Central Highlands on Sunday.
The family was returning from a camping trip when the vehicles crashed west of Rockhampton on the Capricorn Highway, with both erupting in flames.
“I do know that she was at the scene while our officers responded and obviously she’s been devastated by this news,” Inspector Ben Wiltshire said of Ms Jenkins.
It capped a horror period on Queensland roads in which 10 people died in three days.
Ms Jenkins told ABC News her heart had been “ripped to shreds” as she paid tribute to her partner and children.
She said her daughter Baylee was a “ray of sunshine” and described son Chandler as “gentle and loving”.
“My fiance was an invested partner and devoted father that would go to the ends of the earth for the kids and I,” she said.
“I love them so deeply and just want them to come home but I know they can’t.”
Insp Wiltshire said they were keeping an “open mind” as they investigated the cause of the high-speed, head-on crash.
“This heartbreaking incident serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of road safety,” he said.
“These lives were cut short far too soon, leaving families and loved ones to grapple with the unimaginable grief.”
A GoFundMe campaign for the family has been set up by friend Chantel Semple, raising more than $35,000 by Monday afternoon.
“Shaun, Baylee and Chandler were cherished and loved by many and brought so much joy and light into our lives,” she wrote for the fundraiser.
“I hope to relieve the extra stress and heartache that this family already have to endure by raising much needed funds to cover costs for funeral expenses and support Renee … give them the send off they deserve, a meaningful goodbye.”
The other vehicle’s two passengers were taken to hospital. A 27-year-old man was flown to Brisbane with life-threatening injuries while another man, 28, was taken to Rockhampton Hospital where he is in a stable condition.
Six other people lost their lives on the state’s roads in a matter of days.
Three 19-year-olds – two males and a female – were killed in a head-on collision outside Mackay and a 26-year-old man died after falling from a vehicle in Tamborine on Friday.
An 18-year-old man was hit by a car in the South Burnett region and a 45-year-old man died when his motorcycle crashed into a trailer towed by a ute at an intersection near Mackay on Saturday.
Superintendent Dean Cavanagh urged drivers to be extra vigilant.
“The thoughts certainly go out to family and friends who have lost loved ones over this weekend,” he told reporters.
It took Queensland’s 2025 road toll to 152, equalling the number recorded during the same period in 2024, after 302 people died on the state’s roads last year, the most in 15 years.
There have been 203 road fatalities in NSW in 2025, followed by 172 in Victoria, 120 in Western Australia, 44 in South Australia and 23 in the Northern Territory.
AAP
