In Loving Memory
Zachary Wilson
10 August 1997 - 7 October 2024
Tragically Taken From Those He Loved, and Those Who Loved Him.
In Loving Memory
Zachary Wilson
10 August 1997 - 7 October 2024
Tragically Taken From Those He Loved, and Those Who Loved Him.
Zachary was the kind of person who lit up every room he walked into.
Zachary grew up with an infectious laugh, a knack for making people smile, and a heart that cared deeply for everyone he met.
His life was full of love. Love for his family, love for his soulmate Lucy, and love for the future they were building together.
But on October 4, 2024, Zachary's future was stolen away from him.
Zachary was an innocent pedestrian, working on the footpath, when a 67-year-old driver with a known medical condition had a "medical episode" while driving an Amarok, fitted with a bull bar and towing a caravan. An irresponsible and inappropriate vehicle set up for one who knew he had a condition which could render him non responsive without warning when driving.
In an instant, Zachary’s promising life was senselessly cut short, leaving his family and friends to carry the unbearable weight of his loss for the rest of their lives.
This site is dedicated to preserving Zachary’s memory, sharing his story, and shining a light on the love and joy he brought to so many lives.
It is also a call for action, because Zachary’s death was preventable, and no family should have to endure the heartbreak of losing their loved one in such a tragic way.
Through this website, we hope to honour Zachary’s legacy, raise awareness about the systemic failures that allowed this to happen, and advocate for stronger laws in the interest of public safety.
The Zachary We Knew and Loved
Zachary had a magnetic personality—he was the guy everyone wanted to be around because he could turn an ordinary moment into something extraordinary with his quick wit and spontaneous jokes that left people gasping for breath between fits of laughter.
But Zachary wasn’t just about humour—he had an innate kindness that touched everyone he met. He loved people. He loved knowing their stories, what made them tick, and what he could do to make their day brighter. “I just want to make people laugh,” he often told his mum, and he lived up to that promise every single day.
Zachary’s life was driven by passion and a deep desire to make a difference. He joined the Air Force, eager to serve his country, but, his kind heart struggled with the idea of harming anyone. That was Zachary—always thinking about others.
In April 2021, Zachary’s life took a turn that gave his dreams a new focus.
He met Lucy, the love of his life.
From the moment they met, Zachary knew she was his forever.
Every decision he made from that day forward was about building a future with her.
He left the Air Force and found his place at AustSpray, a job he loved as he enjoyed working outdoors and had a career path to build on for his future with Lucy.
Once Zachary returned from the Air Force, he and Lucy were inseparable.
They were soulmates.
Zachary knew he wanted to grow old with Lucy and was so excited for their wedding in May 2025.
But Zachary was killed 7 months before their wedding day.
Zachary excelled at work, earning the respect and admiration of his team.
He wasn’t just good at his job; he made it fun.
His workmates often said a day with Zachary meant a day filled with laughter.
He quickly rose to become a team leader, and while he was proud of his professional accomplishments, his true pride came from knowing he was creating a life for Lucy, a life full of love, joy, and big plans for their future.
Zachary excelled at work, earning the respect and admiration of his team.
He wasn’t just good at his job; he made it fun.
His workmates often said a day with Zachary meant a day filled with laughter.
He quickly rose to become a team leader, and while he was proud of his professional accomplishments, his true pride came from knowing he was creating a life for Lucy, a life full of love, joy, and big plans for their future.
At Zachary’s funeral, his brother Jedd shared a poignant story about a Jacaranda tree that brought Zachary's family and friends comfort the night before Zachary's life support would be turned off.
Overwhelmed with grief, Zachary's loved ones were drawn to a Jacaranda tree bathed in golden light.
As they sat beneath its branches, a flower gently fell at Jedd’s feet, and in that moment, they felt Zachary’s presence. It was as if he was saying, “Sit here. Stay as long as you need. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
From that day forward, the tree became a beautiful symbol of Zachary’s enduring love and connection.
Zachary's family and friends now call them Zacharanda Trees, a reminder of his beautiful spirit which lives on, offering comfort and peace to those he loved.
Zachary’s passion for helping others went beyond his time on this earth.
His dying gift was as an organ donor, giving three people a stronger chance at life, a final act of love and generosity that perfectly encapsulates who he was.
He was a man who gave his all, whether it was to his family, friends, or strangers who were lucky enough to cross his path.
On 9 January 2025, Zachary was added to the Work Safe Queensland Workers Memorial Honour Roll
A Senseless and Preventable Tragedy
4 October 2024.
It was just another day for Zachary at work. He was so proud to be a newly appointed Team Leader for his maintenance crew. They headed to Brisbane Road, Mooloolaba to work on the gardens along the footpath.
Zachary was following all workplace health and safety proceedures as he hedged the gardens with a motorized power tool and was wearing hearing protection while facing towards the oncoming traffic.
He was standing on the footpath, behind a garden and behind a parked car.
He could never have imaged what was happening behind him.
A 67 year old male with a known medical condition, had a "medical episode" while driving his Amarok which was fitted with a bull bar and was towing a caravan.
As the driver had his "medical episode" and "blanked out" his vehicle crossed a heavily treed median strip and continued into the path of oncoming traffic. The 70 year old female passenger did not knock the gears into neutral or pull on the handbrake to attempt to stop what had essentially become a battering ram.
The Amarok and caravan continued for 250 meters into oncoming traffic, hitting 4 cars as they continued into oncoming traffic. The collision with the last vehicle changed their path towards where Zachary was working, behind a parked vehicle.
The Amarok (fitted with a bullbar) and caravan hit the parked car with such violent force that the parked car was flipped at a 90 degree angle, launched up and onto the footpath - directly where Zachary was working, pinning him underneath the parked car.
The Amarok and caravan (a 4 tonne set up) continued for 250 meters into oncoming traffic, hitting 4 cars as they continued at speed. The collision with the last vehicle changed their path towards where Zachary was working, behind a parked vehicle.
The Amarok, with bullbar and caravan hit the 5th vehicle - a parked car - with such violent force that the parked car was pushed back and flipped at a 90 degree angle, launched up and onto the footpath - directly where Zachary was working, pinning him underneath the parked car.
Zachary was using a power tool and was wearing hearing protection. He likely had no idea that this out of control vehicle had crossed 4 lanes of traffic and was approaching him from behind at speed.
Bystanders rushed to Zachary to get him out from underneath the parked car. Once freed from the wreckage, Zachary's workmate held onto Zachary as he took his last unassisted breaths on the footpath.
Zachary was using a power tool and was wearing hearing protection. He likely had no idea that this out of control vehicle had crossed 4 lanes of traffic and was approaching him from behind at speed.
Bystanders rushed to Zachary to get him out from underneath the parked car. Once freed from the wreckage, Zachary's workmate held onto Zachary as he took his last unassisted breaths on the footpath.
Zachary was using a power tool and was wearing hearing protection. He likely had no idea that this out of control vehicle had crossed 4 lanes of traffic and was approaching him at speed from behind.
Bystanders rushed to Zachary to get him out from underneath the parked car.
Once freed from the wreckage, Zachary's good friend and workmate held onto Zachary as he took his last unassisted breaths on the footpath.
Once at the hospital, Doctors gave the devastating news to Zachary's family that he had suffered catastrophic brain trauma and would not survive his injury.
An "end of life" meeting was held as Zachary's family faced the unimaginable and prepared to turn off his life support.
Instead of walking his daughter down the aisle, Lucy's father - a Wardsman at the hospital's emergency department where Zachary had been rushed to, pushed the hospital bed where his daughter lay next to Zachary to the room where they would say goodbye.
Once at the hospital, Doctors gave the devastating news to Zachary's family that he had suffered catastrophic brain trauma and would not survive his injury.
An "end of life" meeting was held as Zachary's family faced the unimaginable and prepared to turn off his life support.
Instead of walking his daughter down the aisle, Lucy's father - a Wardsman at the hospital's emergency department where Zachary had been rushed to, pushed the hospital bed where his daughter lay next to Zachary to the room where they would say goodbye.
Monday, 7 October 2024 at 9.42am
Surrounded by his loved ones, with Lucy lying by his side, Zachary's heart beat for the last time.
Once at the hospital, Doctors gave the devastating news to Zachary's family that he had suffered catastrophic brain trauma and would not survive his injury.
An "end of life" meeting was held as Zachary's family faced the unimaginable and prepared to turn off his life support.
Instead of walking his daughter down the aisle, Lucy's father - a Wardsman at the hospital's emergency department where Zachary had been rushed to, pushed the hospital bed where his daughter lay next to Zachary to the room where they would say goodbye.
Monday, 7 October 2024 at 9.42am
Surrounded by his loved ones with Lucy lying by his side, Zachary's heart beat for the last time.
A Call For Change In the Name of Public Safety
On October 4, 2024, Zachary’s life was senselessly taken in a preventable tragedy.
An innocent pedestrian working on the footpath, who was struck down because a driver knowing they had a medical condition which can render you non responsive while driving, chose to drive a heavy vehicle with a bull bar and tow a caravan.
Despite this risk to public safety, the driver faced no restrictions, no accountability, and no legal ramifications. He had completed the necessary paperwork to be allowed to drive and drive any vehicle and tow a caravan.
Had he been restricted in the type of vehicle he could drive with his known medical condition and been restricted from towing a caravan or heavy trailer, he would have stopped long before hitting 5 cars and killing Zachary on the footpath 250m away from where he had crossed over into oncoming traffic.
And Zachary would be alive today.
"It's a legal system, not a justice system", the Police advised Zachary's family.
Zachary’s story is not just one of injustice, but a cry for change.
There are enough people dying on our roads.
If lives can be saved by introducing restrictions to drivers with medical conditions, then in the name of public safety, it needs to be done to prevent more families from enduring such devastating grief.
Zachary's 27th and last birthday.
Medical doctors and licensing authorities like Queensland Transport and Main Roads (TMR) play a critical role in assessing medical fitness to drive - however it's just checking the box and "rubber stamping" people's fitness to drive.
Queensland Transport and Main Roads guidelines state: “All driver licensing decisions are the responsibility of TMR, and your recommendation regarding the person’s medical fitness to drive is considered as part of the decision-making process.”
How did a system that’s supposed to prioritize public safety allow a driver with a history of "medical episodes" which causes them to be non responsive to operate a 2-tonne vehicle, with a bull bar and tow a 2 tonne caravan?
This 4 tonne set up is not something you would want to encounter when the driver is conscious let alone incapacitated and unresponsive due to a medical episode.
Where were the safeguards? Who ensured these risks were thoroughly evaluated?
The failures in this process cost Zachary his life.
And it's not only Zachary.
22-month-old Jet Paul Rowland was killed when a driver with epilepsy travelling in the opposite direction suffered a seizure, crossed the median strip on the Logan Motorway, south of Brisbane, and collided with the car Jet was travelling in with his mother Anita and his brother Bailey, aged 6. Bailey's spinal cord was severed, causing instant paraplegia. Jet later died due to massive internal injuries. Jet's mother Anita lobbied the Queensland government for more stringent guidelines regarding medical conditions and driving and brought about "Jet's Law" to protect people from motorists who have a medical condition that may affect their ability to drive. The most common conditions reported are Epilepsy and Diabetes.
Yet more still needs to be done.
2023 in New South Wales, a diabetic of 30 years had a hypoglycaemic attack just before dinner time. He was driving his SUV and ran over a group of people - killing 3 adults and 2 children. The judge dismissed the case and the driver has walked away from 14 charges, because of the current laws, and the grieving families of innocent people killed have been been left reeling yet again due to a legal system that shows complete disregard for innocent lives being taken.
Queensland Transport requires drivers to advise the department if you have a medical condtion: "You have a legal responsibility to tell us when you have a permanent or long-term medical condition that’s likely to affect your ability to drive safely."
And yet with current laws - if you have a known medical condition and a doctor signs your piece of paper, and you have a medical episode while you are driving you cannot be charged with offences because you did not have conscious control of your vehicle.
Zachary's loved ones believe that if you have a medical condition that can affect your ability to drive safely and you insist on driving, then you should accept the consequences and be held accountable if you cause an accident due to your known medical condition - conscious or unconscious - especially when an innocent life is lost.
All that is required is for the driver with a medical condition to submit this form which in no way proves they are not a risk to public safety with their pre-existing condition.
Austroads plays a pivotal role in shaping driver licensing policies across Australia, developing and maintaining the Assessing Fitness to Drive guidelines, which establish the nationally agreed-upon medical standards for determining an individual's fitness to hold a driver's license.
According to Austroad's Assessing Fitness to Drive item 6.2 Seizures and Epilepsy states for the Evidence of Crash Risk: "Most studies have reported an elevated crash risk among drivers with epilepsy, but the size of the risk varies considerably across the studies. These studies have found that people with epilepsy are twice as likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crash compared with the general driving population."
Epilepsy Queensland states: "Following an unprovoked first seizure, the Australian recommendation is a driving ban for a minimum of 6 months for private vehicle licence holders."
Only 6 months?
How does this compare to taking someone's life?
All that is required is for the driver with a medical condition to submit this form which in no way proves they are not a risk to public safety with their pre-existing condition.
Austroads plays a pivotal role in shaping driver licensing policies across Australia. As a collective of Australian and New Zealand transport agencies, Austroads develops and maintains the Assessing Fitness to Drive guidelines, which establish the nationally agreed-upon medical standards for determining an individual's fitness to hold a driver's license.
According to Austroad's Assessing Fitness to Drive item 6.2 Seizures and Epilepsy states for the Evidence of Crash Risk: "Most studies have reported an elevated crash risk among drivers with epilepsy, but the size of the risk varies considerably across the studies. These studies have found that people with epilepsy are twice as likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crash compared with the general driving population."
Epilepsy Queensland states: "Following an unprovoked first seizure, the Australian recommendation is a driving ban for a minimum of 6 months for private vehicle licence holders." - only 6 months?
How does this compare to taking someone's life?
Per current Queensland licensing guidelines, the driver responsible for taking Zachary's life could be driving another high powered vehicle, with a bull bar and towing a caravan in as little as 12 months if they have no further "medical episodes", while Zachary's loved ones will grieve him for the next 50 years.
Zachary had every right to go to work and come home that day.
He had the right to live to be an old man.
A 24 year old woman had the right to marry her soul mate.
A mother had the right to watch her son grow up, get married.
A brother had the right to enjoy the company of his only sibling for life.
But they have been denied these rights because one person with a medical condition felt he not only had a right to drive but also the right to drive a 4 tonne set up with a medical condition that could cause him to have a black out and be unresponsive while driving - therefore putting public safety at risk.
Zachary’s family firmly believes that Zachary's death was not an accident, but is due to the irresponsible choices made by a 67 year old man who knew he had a medical condition which could render him non responsive while driving and his disregard for the risks to public safety should he have a medical episode while driving.
Be a Voice for Change -
It May Save The Life of Someone You Love
Be a Voice for Change
It May Save The Life of Someone You Love
This viewpoint shared by someone who has epilepsy is terrifying and EXACTLY why current laws need to change.
The driver responsible for Zachary's death also likely thought he had the "SLIMMEST" chance of having a medical episode while driving. This is your chance to be a voice for Zachary and other innocent victims, their families who have been thrown into a life time of grief and also to spare those with medical conditions from a lifetime of guilt.
Every life lost in preventable circumstances is one too many. Zachary’s story is a heartbreaking reminder that our current system is failing to protect innocent lives. The privilege of driving comes with immense responsibility, yet gaps in licensing regulations and enforcement allow known medical risks to go unchecked.
If these changes were in place, Zachary and others would still be here, and their loved ones would be spared from a life of unimaginable grief and loss.
This isn’t just about Zachary; it’s about safeguarding everyone we love from senseless tragedies caused by avoidable risks.
Help us to bring reforms that prioritize public safety and be a voice for the innocent victims and their families.
In the name of public safety, we seek following restrictions for individuals with medical conditions that may cause them to become unresponsive while driving:
Limit Vehicle Types: Allow only safer, smaller vehicles, such as non-turbo 1.5L 4-cylinder sedans or hatches.
Ban Bull Bars: Prohibit the use of bull bars on vehicles driven by individuals with these medical risks, as they significantly increase danger to the public in collisions.
Restrict Towing: Prohibit towing heavy trailers, caravans, or boats, as these setups create additional risks in the event of a medical episode.
Accountability: Hold drivers with known medical conditions accountable for incidents caused due to their disclosed medical condition(s), recognizing that the privilege to drive includes accepting the responsibility of ensuring public safety when driving.
These changes would save lives. They could prevent another family from enduring the unbearable grief Zachary’s loved ones now face.
This is your chance to be a voice for Zachary and other innocent victims, their families who have been thrown into a life time of grief and also to spare those with medical conditions from a lifetime of guilt.
The life you save could be someone you love.
Sign the Petition to Support Safer Driving Laws HERE: https://chng.it/dGKkvjLgfb
