Two of the three tragic victims killed in the horrific overnight car accident in Queensland have been identified as a loving mother of two and an alpaca breeder.
Gypsy Satterley, 25, died in a suspected domestic violence homicide when the car she was in was rammed into the path of another vehicle on the Bruce Highway near Federal near Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.
Rafferty Rolfe, 25, from Yandina, who was reportedly in a stolen car that rammed into her vehicle, is the only survivor of the three-car collision, which happened at about 4am on Friday.
According to police, the stolen Isuzu MU-X was reportedly chasing a northbound Nissan Navara that was carrying Rolfe’s girlfriend as a passenger.
It is believed that the stolen Isuzu then rammed the Navara into the path of the third vehicle heading south, a blue Chinese-made Great Wall ute.
Ms Satterley, who is believed to have two daughters aged about 6 and 8, and the 65-year-old man driving the Navara, both died in the crash, along with alpaca breeder Jessica Townley, 38, from nearby Imbil, who was riding the Great Wall.
Police said Mrs Satterley and the Navara driver did not know each other last night.
Gypsy Satterley, 25, (pictured) died in a suspected domestic violence homicide when the ute she was in was rammed into the path of another vehicle on the Bruce Highway near Federal near Noosa on the Sunshine Coast
Rafferty Rolfe, 25, who was reportedly in a stolen car that rammed her vehicle, is the only survivor of the three-car collision, which occurred at about 4 a.m. Friday
Alpaca breeder Jessica Townley, 38, was killed when her blue Great Wall ute was hit in the tragic collision
Three vehicles were involved in the horror accident at Federal, on the Bruce Highway. Homicide investigators are investigating the crash
It is investigated if he was a Good Samaritan who helped her after she came out of the Isuzu earlier.
Mrs Satterley’s death is now being treated as a domestic violence homicide.
Rolfe was reportedly known to Queensland Police and was taken to hospital with serious head injuries where he remains under police guard.
On Friday night, he was charged with a charge of armed robbery in connection with the alleged theft of the Isuzu.
He will appear before the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday 24 July.
Detective Ben Fadian told reporters, “The white Isuzu tried to ram the Nissan Navara motor vehicle.
‘As a result of that vehicle [Nissan] crossed over to the southbound lanes of the Bruce Highway.”
Police also confirmed on Friday night that Ms Satterley and Rolfe were reportedly in a relationship before the tragedy.
In a haunting last post on Facebook just four days ago, Ms Satterley, also from Yandina, posted a poem ‘Keep Going’ about pushing through cruel adversity.
It contains the lines: “No matter how bad things are right now, no matter how many days you’ve cried, no matter how hopeless and depressed you feel…
“I promise you won’t feel this way forever. Keep going.’
In an earlier post at the end of June, she posted another message, with the caption: “Rahhh raahhh you are a dead man.”
The post added, “Sometimes we don’t really let go. We’re not really getting anywhere. We just learn to live with the loss. We learn how to smile when we are sad….
“We’ll keep going and hope for the best.”
Gypsy Townley (pictured) is said to be the mother of two young girls, approximately 8 and 6 years old
In a terrifying last post on Facebook just four days ago (pictured), Ms Satterley posted a ‘Keep Going’ poem about denouncing cruel adversity
The crash happened in Federal west of Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, as this map shows
Shocked friends paid tribute to the young mother after news of the tragedy spread.
“She was supposed to be at my house last night but I missed her call and she didn’t show up,” one of them told Courier mail. “This time there was no tomorrow.
“Her siblings are devastated along with her mom and dad, we are all so shocked.
“She is a beautiful person who deserved more than life gave her. She never deserved this.’
The white Isuzu MU-X vehicle was stolen 12 hours before the highway crash in a violent daylight carjacking on Gympie’s main street on Thursday, police said.
A vehicle warning was issued after a man armed with a knife threatened a mother and her three children as the family got into their car.
The terrified mother, Bec Alexander, removed her children from the vehicle before handing the car over to the robber. She and her children were unharmed.
“I was jacked up with three kids in the car,” Ms Alexander said in a Facebook post. “A knife was pulled so the kids and I could get out, but my car was stolen!”
Police later spotted the stolen car, but the driver refused to pull over and fled. The car was not being chased at the time of the incident.
The owner of the stolen white Isuzu, Bec Alexander (pictured), posted on Facebook at 6:35 p.m. on Thursday that she had been arrested at knifepoint: ‘I was jacked up with three kids in the car’
Police have confirmed that one of the vehicles (pictured) involved in the accident was said to have been stolen from Gympie at around 4.30pm on Thursday.
“The tragedy is that three people have now died and the ripple effect that has had on their families,” said Superintendent Fadian.
Nigel Jones, acting director of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast Ambulance Service, said it was a challenging event for all emergency services.
“Obviously the scene was quite confrontational given the mechanism of the forces involved – it was clearly a high speed incident involving those vehicles,” Mr Jones said.
“So much so that our paramedics report that the two patients died in a collision with a third patient, who sadly passed away shortly afterwards.”
Southbound lanes of the Bruce Highway are expected to be closed for an extended period of time and diversions are in place.
Detective Supt Fadian described it as a complex investigation and urged anyone who saw the stolen Isuzu to contact police.
“We are also appealing to anyone driving on the Bruce Highway between Federal and Noosa turnoff between 3am and 4am this morning who may have seen that vehicle to contact Crimestoppers,” said Det Supt Fadian.
The forensic crash unit is investigating and no charges have been filed.
The wreckage of a Nissan Navara ute involved in the crash crumbled against a barrier