Aussie dad's tragic last words as car ploughs into his home
A Queensland community is in mourning after a 55-year-old man and local rugby league legend was killed when a car ploughed into his home on Christmas Day.
Neighbours say they heard arguing outside Russell Klein’s home in Millmerran, southwest of Toowoomba, on Sunday night before a desperate plea for help.
“I heard a lot of shouting and arguing and a car revving but I thought it was hoons so I didn’t go out,” Maureen Saunders, who lives next door, told The Courier Mail. “Then I heard a loud bang and someone crying out, help me, help me.”
She rushed outside and found Mr Klein partially trapped under the house. With the help of a second person, they tried to free the local father, while someone else rang Triple-0.
“As soon as the ambulance arrived they said we had lost him,” Ms Saunders said.
Alleged driver being questioned by police
Police say a vehicle was driven into the home at around 9.30pm, “fatally wounding” the 55-year-old who was in the house, before the driver fled on foot.
Officers found the alleged motorist, a 30-year-old man, at an address a short distance away. He’s assisting police with their inquiries while detectives and the Forensic Crash Unit investigate the circumstances leading up to the “sudden death.”
Queensland Police told Yahoo News Australia on Monday afternoon that no charges have yet been laid.
Town devastated with the loss of an ‘amazing citizen’
Having previously played for the Pittsworth Danes, Millmerran Rams and Inglewood Roosters, the rugby league player was a well known local in Toowoomba. In 2018, at almost 51, he stepped back out of retirement for the Danes alongside his sons Jayden and Jai, as reported by Queensland Rugby League.
“How many blokes get the chance to play footy with their two sons?” he said at the time. “It’s the best thing you can do.”
With over 30 years’ experience as a grader driver, Mr Klein was also known around the small country town for his new business, Kleiny’s Grader Contracting, which is believed to have only launched last month.
Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio, whose family was close to the Kleins, described Russell as a “hard worker and friendly guy,” adding that a tragedy like this happening on Christmas is going to “be very difficult for the community to manage.”
“We have lost an amazing citizen, someone who added a lot to the community and we have to work together as a community to get through this,” he told The Courier Mail.
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