Casino, NSW, rallies behind officer called to crash that killed his four-year-old daughter
A lone teddy bear and flowers sit at the site of a heart-rending tragedy in New South Wales north, where a police officer was called to an accident to discover it had claimed the life of his young daughter.
The Casino community is rallying behind the family of the officer who was one of the first to arrive on the scene.
Richmond Local Area Command Sergeant Steve Underhill responded to the collision between a red Mazda 323 and a Subaru Liberty on the Bruxner Highway at about 1.20pm on Friday.
When he arrived at the scene he discovered his daughter Elle, 4, and his two-year-old were in the Mazda, which was torn in two by the force of the crash.
The tragedy has sparked a fundraising effort by locals and visits to Casino by NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione and premier Mike Baird to pay their respects and express condolences to Sergeant Underhill and his wife Michelle.
“My heart goes out to Steve and Michelle and it is important that I met with them to let them know that the NSW Police family hurts when they hurt,’’ Mr Scipione told News Corp.
A GoFundMe account set up to support the family has raised more than $35,000 since Friday. There have been more than 500 donations to date.
Elle’s sister was taken to the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane after the crash. A seven-year-old girl who was also in the Mazda was treated at Lismore Base Hospital, as was the 18-year-old driver, babysitter Michelle Courteney.
She is reportedly struggling to come to terms with the tragic events.
John White, an 81-year-old retired chemist, who was driving the Subaru has received treatment at Lismore.
The Far North Coast Crash Investigation Unit has appealed for witnesses to the accident to make contact.
The GoFundMe page for the Underhill family can be found here.
News break – December 23
