VIC:Triple fatality victim laid to rest

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2011
VIC:Triple fatality victim laid to rest

By Joel Cresswell and Xavier La Canna

MELBOURNE, April 1 AAP - The first of the seven people killed in a tragic week on Victorian
roads has been laid to rest as police pleaded with motorists to drive more responsibly.

Hamish Roddick, 22, was driving a car that struck a pole in Werribee last Saturday
night, killing himself and two teenage passengers.

More than 100 mourners paid tribute to Mr Roddick in a private service at Werribee on Friday.

Rock song Paranoid by Black Sabbath could be heard playing as his casket was loaded
into the hearse and Mr Roddick's father, mother and sister walked behind.

Two naval recruits were killed on Tuesday night when their car hit a power pole near
the HMAS Cerberus training base at Crib Point, south of Melbourne, while three fellow
trainees were critically injured.

Police believe speed and alcohol contributed to both the Werribee and Crib Point crashes.

Two more men died on Thursday when their car rolled down an embankment and onto its
roof near Orbost in Victoria's east, taking the road toll for March to 32, nine more than
the same month in 2010.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe called on drivers to think harder
about how they drive.

"My plea here today is to the community, to all the motorists out there, to actually
think about the way that they drive, the way they behave when they are behind the wheel
of a motor vehicle," he said.

Mr Walshe said the worst crashes this month all involved single cars going off the road.

"That has been the major driver of the number of people who have lost their lives this
particular month," he said.

"Unless we can get people to really understand and appreciate their role as responsible
drivers, my fear is that this sort of road toll is going to continue.

"It is time that everybody starts to think about what their role is, what their responsibility
is as a road user."

Victoria's road toll stands at 71 compared to 74 at the same time last year.

The police warning came just hours before a jury retired to consider its verdict in
the trial of a man charged over a crash that killed four of his mates.

Melbourne man Simon Farrugia, 21, is accused of racing his car against another driven
by Hasan Burke before the fiery crash on the West Gate Freeway in 2007.

AAP jcr/pmu/dep/apm

KEYWORD: RODDICK

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