A close-knit, remote community is in mourning after a beloved 24-year-old state motocross champion was killed in an industrial accident.
Jake Williams suffered serious head injuries on Friday morning while working at the Raglan St carpentry factory in the Central Queensland outback town of Roma.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and found Mr Williams unconscious at around 1.50am.
Unfortunately, he died on the spot.
In 2016, Mr Williams claimed two victories at the Queensland Motocross Championship, winning the 15-year-old 250cc and the 13-15-year-old 125cc at Hervey Bay in the state’s south-east.
Website Motoonline.com reported that ‘Mr. Williams just dominated the whole weekend’.
Mr. Williams’ love of motocross is evident on his Facebook and Instagram accounts, where he posts numerous photos and videos of himself tearing up dirt tracks, both for training and competition.
He was sponsored by Yamaha, who provided him with bicycles.
Jake Williams, 24, tragically died at the scene of an accident at a carpentry workshop in the central Queensland town of Roma
Roma resident Thomas Wilkinson posted a number of stories on Facebook about Williams’ death, captioning them ‘fly high brother’.
Friend Remi Kai wrote on Facebook that Williams “died too soon.”
“A wonderful young man whose life was taken too soon. You made everyone you knew proud and fit so much into your life,” Alanah Ladbrook also wrote.
Thomas Wilkinson said: ‘fly high brother’, while Remi Kai wrote: ‘taken too soon our dear friend’.
Mr Williams was a very keen motocross rider and had won titles in the Queensland age group
It is reported that Mr Williams was seriously injured by a piece of machinery.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Safety at Work said they were investigating the tragedy.
“Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) is investigating an incident that occurred at Roma … to determine whether the matter was work related,” he said.
‘WHSQ was notified of the incident by the Queensland Police Service, who were first on the scene.’
Police are also preparing a coroner’s report.