Fuel tanker tragedy: father loses fight

By Laurel-Lee Roderick
Updated November 5 2012 - 11:46pm, first published January 3 2010 - 10:21am
Flowers lie by the side of the road near East Lynne where a tanker (below) collided with three cars, killing four people. Main picture: SYLVIA LIBER
Flowers lie by the side of the road near East Lynne where a tanker (below) collided with three cars, killing four people. Main picture: SYLVIA LIBER
Fuel tanker tragedy: father loses fight
Fuel tanker tragedy: father loses fight

Ulladulla man David Bridge has died in hospital, a week after the fiery collision with a petrol tanker on the Princes Hwy that killed his two daughters.The toll from the East Lynne crash stands at four after Mr Bridge, 47, lost his battle to survive burns to 80 per cent of his body. He died yesterday afternoon in Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.His death took the NSW holiday road toll to 23.

  • CLICK HERE TO READ TRIBUTES TO THE BRIDGE FAMILY
  • Photos from the crash scene The only survivor from the family's Subaru Forrester, Mr Bridge's wife Debbie, 40, remains in a critical condition in Concord Hospital.The Bridge family were returning home to Ulladulla after a holiday in Albury when their Subaru and a south-bound fuel tanker collided around 4.50pm last Monday, near the intersection of Pebbly Beach Rd, 20km north of Batemans Bay. The petrol tanker and Subaru exploded on impact, killing 36-year-old truck driver David Carolan, of Narellan Vale, and the two rear passengers from the Subaru, Makeely and Jordon Bridge, aged 11 and 13.Mrs Bridge's sister and brother-in-law, Sheree and Frank Montgomery, also from Ulladulla, were travelling in the vehicle behind the Subaru. Mr Montgomery suffered severe burns to a hand in his frantic efforts to free the family from the vehicle.The occupants of two other vehicles involved in the crash, a Honda Accord and Toyota Rav 4, were treated in Milton-Ulladulla and Batemans Bay hospitals with less serious injuries.Last week, relatives of Mr and Mrs Bridge issued a statement through the two hospitals, thanking the public for their support and asking for privacy."(We) want to thank the community for their well wishes at this very difficult time," the statement said.The tragedy has shaken the close-knit Ulladulla community. There have been tributes for the well-liked family and a poignant roadside memorial.It has also prompted renewed calls for more money to be spent on upgrading the notorious Princes Hwy, including an emotional appeal to the State Government from Mr Carolan's fiancee, Nicole Colak.
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