New revelations have emerged about the ex-police officer believed to have caused the deadly 120mph tunnel crash that killed a young nurse and himself.
The daughter of driver Bruce Daley’s girlfriend, who did not want to be identified, said her mother was on the phone with him just before the crash.
Daley was killed when his Audi – which witnesses said was traveling at a speed of 200km/h – collided with a silver sedan, which then crashed into a truck in the Legacy Way tunnel near Mt Coot-Tha on Wednesday.
Young nurse Lily Galbraith, 24, who was a passenger in the silver sedan, was killed while the driver, her friend Emma McLean, 23, was left in a critical condition.
The young woman also revealed to 7News that she was meant to be in the car with Daley at the time of the fatal accident.
She said her mother, who is in Thailand, is “heartbroken” over Daley’s death.
Daley was scheduled to travel to Thailand today to be with her.
The young woman also revealed that she was meant to be in the car with ex-cop Bruce Daley (pictured) at the time of the fatal accident
Daley was killed when his Audi crashed into a silver sedan, which then crashed into a truck in the Legacy Way tunnel at Mt Coot-Tha on Wednesday.
The young woman said Daley treated her mother very well.
“He treated my mother like, I wouldn’t say a princess, but he gave her whatever she wanted,” she said.
Witnesses said the retired police officer stopped his black Audi at the entrance to the busy tunnel, revved its engine and accelerated to speeds of 125mph just seconds before plowing into the back of a car and killing a young woman killed.
They recalled how the Audi stopped at the entrance to the tunnel at around 3.10pm, forcing other motorists to drive around it.
‘The driver did not indicate or initiate any dangers. I pointed around him and kept walking. A few people were beeping at him,” a witness said The courier post.
‘I walked past it slowly. He just sat there in the car.”
Lily Galbraith (left) was killed after former police officer Bruce Daley, driving an Audi convertible, crashed into the back of a car in which she was a passenger. Her friend Emma McLean (right) is in critical condition
Mr Daley drove north into the tunnel in a black Audi S3 (pictured), which witnesses said he was traveling at speeds of up to 125mph
The witness had called his brother while driving home from work.
“This car flew, it went past me and my brother could even hear it on the hands-free function, my car shook,” he said.
‘The impact happened about 80 meters in front of me. I said to my brother, “I have to answer the phone” and jumped out.
“All you could see was smoke and debris everywhere.”
The witness said he and another man checked on Mr Daley, who had a ‘minimal pulse’ and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Daley retired from the Queensland Police Service in 2014.
He had mentioned his mental health issues on social media, including references to loneliness and suicide.
Detective Acting Inspector Chris Hansel told a news conference that speed would be a focus of the investigation.
“This will be a very lengthy matter, and all elements and angles of this incident will be thoroughly investigated,” he said.
‘We also look at our five fatal factors, such as possible distraction, drink driving, speeding, fatigue or uninhibited behavior that was present in the run-up to or during the incident.’
Inspector Hansel would not comment on whether the former police officer’s mental state would affect the investigation, which is expected to last several months.
‘I cannot comment on the exact scenarios at this time. As you will appreciate, it is a very complex investigation, a very confronting scene experienced by our first responders and members of the public,” he said.
The former police officer poses in his black Audi convertible in November 2016
It is understood Mr Daley (pictured) left the Queensland Police Service in 2014
“It would again be irresponsible of me to name a specific scenario without the full investigation having been done.”
Ms Galbraith, from Darwin, and Ms McLean, from Adelaide, were in Brisbane for a wedding when their lives were turned upside down by the crash.
Ms McLean was engaged to her boyfriend of five years just a few weeks ago.
The driver of the truck was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The collision closed the main Brisbane tunnel and closed both the inbound and outbound lanes for more than two hours during peak hours.
Police want to speak to anyone who saw the black Audi S3 before the crash and anyone who has information for investigators.