Whyalla mourns Lincoln Highway crash victims Travis Terry and Kimberley Pursche
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A small town is devastated when a 37-year-old mental health worker and his adoring 35-year-old father crash into each other and are killed.
- Whyalla in SA mourns locals who died in a car crash
- SUV and ute collide head-on on highway killing both drivers
- Travis Terry and Kimberley Pursche receive warm tributes
A regional community is in mourning after a horrific head-on collision claimed the lives of two much-loved locals.
The devastating collision between a Toyota Rav 4 and a Hilux ute occurred on the Lincoln Highway between Whyalla and Port Augusta, northwest of Adelaide, just before 7:30am on Wednesday.
Emergency services arrived on the scene outside Port Augusta to find only the twisted remains of both vehicles with the two drivers, Kimberley Pursche, a 37-year-old mental health worker, and father Travis Terry, 35, dead. by the impact.
A 27-year-old co-worker who was a passenger in Terry’s Hilux miraculously escaped with minor injuries and was treated at the hospital.
Giles State Member, Eddie Hughes MP, paid tribute to the two people who died as pillars of the Whyalla community.
Kimberley Pursche, a 37-year-old mental health worker, died in the terror crash
Travis Terry, 35, was also killed in the collision near Port Augusta in South Australia.
“Our thoughts are also with the friends of the young man who lost his life and we wish a speedy recovery to those in hospital after the accident,” Hughes MP said.
Terry’s sister, Kira Jade, posted an emotional farewell on Facebook.
“RIP my beautiful brother,” the post read.
‘My heart is breaking.’
“We are now missing a very large part of our family and it will never be the same again without you and your beautiful smile and contagious laugh.”
Hughes said that “the loss of the Kimberley Pursche is truly devastating.”
‘A woman with a big heart and a warm soul who was always willing to give everything to help others. She touched so many in our community,” Hughes MP wrote on Facebook.
‘To our colleagues at CentaCare in Kimberley, our thoughts are with you. For the Whyalla Suicide Prevention Network, chaired by Kimberley, you have lost a champion, as has Whyalla, truly one of a kind for him.
In her role as president of the Whyalla Suicide Prevention Network, Pursche was a finalist for the Rural Community Health and Wellness Award from the Rural Doctors Workforce Agency last year.
Emergency service workers were met with a scene of devastation when they attended the crash site.
CentaCare Catholic Country SA chief executive Dr Jen Clearly said Ms Pursche was a ‘highly respected and respected’ colleague.
“She was much loved and touched the lives of all of us with her kind and caring nature as our Training Coordinator,” Dr. Cleary wrote.
“He made a commitment to provide training and support to the communities of our country and brought his passion light and life.”
“Many of us have learned a lot from his skills.”