Athanasios Papageorgiou crushed to death in a Puma, Springvale car wash is ID’d as loving dad of two
A grandfather who was killed after getting stuck in a car wash was likely confused by a flashing green arrow encouraging him to drive in even though he entered the wrong code.
Athanasios Papageorgiou had to fight for his life after becoming trapped in the car wash of a Puma petrol station in Springvale, southeast of Melbourne, in November 2019. Three days later he died.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal that Mr Papageorgiou, 73, was a beloved father of two and grandfather and an active member of the Greek community when his life was tragically cut short.
He had told his wife Maria that he was just going to get fuel when a quick decision to wash his car ended in tragedy.
Melbourne car wash victim Athanasios Papageorgiou and his wife Maria. Both were active members of the Greek community
The car wash where the shocking accident took the life of Mr Papageorgiou in Springvale, in the southeast of the town
Lawyers representing international oil company Chevron appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after the company was charged over the death of the Mulgrave man.
It can now be revealed that Ms. Papageorgiou told family that her husband had simply gone to fill up his car and never returned home.
“He went to fill up the car, something happened to the machine and he died of suffocation,” she told friends and family via social media at the time.
Just days earlier, Mr. Papageorgiou was seen enjoying a traditional Greek event at Springvale’s Greek community and district tavern, where he was a regular.
On December 9 of that year, Mr. Papageorgiou was said goodbye, after he had died from his injuries three days after the accident.
On Tuesday, an expert brought in by WorkSafe to investigate the deadly car wash suggested that better signage could have saved Mr. Papageorgiou’s life.
Dr. Peter Hart told the court that motorists entering the car wash had no idea if the access codes they used to enter the car wash had been entered correctly.
“I came to believe that signage could have reduced the risk of this type of incident, as the driver would have been informed that the code had not been accepted and so the car was not allowed to enter the car wash,” he told police. court.
Athanasios Papageorgiou (far left) is seen in happier times at a traditional Greek event in the Greek community of Springvale and the Tavern District where he was a regular
Dr. Hart said gReen flashing arrows directing motorists to enter the car wash added to the confusion.
“The flashing green arrows inviting the driver to enter the car wash can be suppressed unless the code is accepted,” he said.
“I think the presence of those green flashing arrows is quite confusing to a motorist because it is quite possible that a code will not be accepted and yet it looks like the motorist is being invited to enter the car wash.
“As a result, the driver has to get out of the car or drive to repair it.”
The watchdog claims that Mr. Papageorgiou was killed under similar circumstances.
Mr. Papageorgiou and wife Maria in happier times
Dr. Hart said the problem could have been fixed “fairly easily.”
“I think you could also have a sign that says “code accepted” or “code not accepted” that lights up until the code is accepted. I think there is reasonable prospect that a driver who doesn’t know much about how the car wash works won’t continue in the presence of such a sign,’ he said.
Documents released to Daily Mail Australia revealed that Papageorgiou screamed in pain as staff, police and paramedics desperately but unsuccessfully tried to free him.
The court heard police and paramedics responded quickly to the emergency, arriving within minutes of Mr Papageorgiou becoming trapped in the car wash.
According to documents, Mr. Papageorgiou was left “screaming and unable to move”.
The gas station in Springvale where a 73-year-old was crushed to death. It was then branded as a Puma service station. Chevron bought the company after the accident
“Alerted by another customer, gas station sales associates tried but were unable to free the man and called emergency services,” documents said.
“Minutes later, two ambulances arrived at the scene, Victoria Police members were also present.”
The court heard that paramedics were unable to free him and immediately determined that the man’s heart had stopped beating.
It took Country Fire Authority firefighters 16 minutes to get to the scene and free Mr Papageorgiou from the machine.
Paramedics were then able to ‘reanimate’ the unconscious Mr. Papageorgiou and took him to hospital.
However, Mr. Papageorgiou died days later due to the long period without oxygen in the brain due to ‘crash asphyxia’.
On Monday, a witness described the shocking moment Mr. Papageorgiou raced to his doom in the car wash.
Pietrina Di Noto was next in line to get her car washed when she saw the horrific incident happen.
She told the court that the elderly man’s fate was sealed when he tried to get into the front seat of his car after the car wash kicked in.
Mr Papageorgiou, 73, was crushed after getting out of his vehicle to re-enter an access code, after which the wash cycle began (stock image)
WorkSafe Victoria has sued Chevron four times for negligence after the man drove into the car wash before getting out of his car to re-enter an access code.
The court heard he was crushed trying to get back into his vehicle once the wash cycle had begun, his car door getting stuck by a portal.
Ms. Di Noto told the court she saw Mr. Papageorgiou jump out of his car to enter the code.
Ms Di Noto addressed the court on the first day of the preliminary hearing and said Mr Papageorgiou had ‘roughly’ asked her to move her vehicle so he could enter the code.
“He saw the machine move and started walking,” she said.
Ms Di Noto said she saw water begin pouring out of the car wash as Mr Papageorgiou desperately tried to get back into the front seat of his vehicle.
“I was like, ‘Oh no, please get in the backseat,'” she said.
Ms Di Noto said Papageorgiou managed to open the front door wide enough to get a foot in before being cut down by the car wash.
“It would have been better if he had just walked away,” she said. “It was clear to me.”
“It was obviously dangerous to get up front,” she said. ‘I was shocked.’
The hearing will conclude next month.