‘Beautiful soul’ lost in crash near Pingrup as the Great Southern equals its 2020 road toll in three months

Tragedy has struck again on Great Southern roads, with a 73-year-old woman killed and a 78-year-old man seriously injured in a crash near Pingrup. The pair were travelling north in a grey Nissan X-Trail about 12.30pm on Tuesday, March 30, when their vehicle left Chester Pass Road and crashed into a tree. The crash happened near the intersection of Gillis Road, south-west of the Pingrup townsite. The woman died at the scene, while the seriously injured man was taken to Katanning Hospital. Relatives paid tribute to the 73-year-old woman as a “beautiful soul” and an “inspiration” who was the rock of her family. The crash brought the Great Southern’s road toll to 11 for the first three months of 2021. That is the same number of deaths as recorded in the region for the entirety of 2020. Katanning Sen. Sgt Carlos Correia said the crash was a traumatic event for all involved. “It is a traumatic time for the victims’ families, for emergency services — we all feel it,” Sen. Sgt Correia said. He said it was more important than ever that people took care on the roads, with traffic elevated because of travel restrictions. “Please take care in everything you do. Try to anticipate other people’s errors, don't drive tired, stop to have a look at the recommendations online,” he said. “We will continue to have police officers out on the roads being visible in the hope people can see police and slow down.” Chester Pass Road was closed into the evening last Tuesday as Major Crash officers examined the crash scene near Pingrup. Their investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report at crimestopperswa.com.au.