Mid West faces horror year on roads as young deaths add to rising toll and WA records decade-high fatalities

The number of lives lost on West Australian roads has surged to a decade high, with the Mid West region among the hardest hit. On Monday, a 17-year-old boy was the latest young person to lose his life on Monday after his Toyota Corolla collided with a Kenworth prime mover in Bookara near Dongara, causing the truck to roll and spill its load across the road. The crash blocked traffic and the highway was closed for 12 hours. An outpouring of love and grief has since flowed on social media, with friends and family paying tribute to the teenager’s “great humour”, calling him a “gorgeous young lad” with a “zest for life”. “You were always smiling and up for a chat, your presence will surely be missed by everyone that knew you and those you came into contact with. Forever 17. Rest in Love,” one user wrote. It is the second young life lost on the Brand Highway in a month. On May 15, 20-year-old Abby Shiozaki died in a two-car crash at the intersection of Brand Highway and Endeavour Drive in Wandina. She was the driver of a Holden Commodore that collided with a Toyota Prado that also left a 16-year-old boy critically injured. Since January 1, 2025, the Mid West-Gascoyne region has recorded six fatalities, with half of the crashes occurring in the Greater Geraldton area. There has been 92 deaths on roads so far in 2025 across the State. In 2024, the Mid West-Gascoyne region recorded 16 road fatalities compared to seven in 2023, according to the WA Road Safety Commission. The road toll has reached 44 in regional WA already this year, compared to 52 total in 2024. RAC senior manager of communications Rhys Heron said alongside the human cost came a monetary cost. “Between 2019 and 2023, more than 500 people lost their lives and 2700 were seriously injured on WA’s regional roads with half of these crashes occurring on local roads,” he said. “Apart from the immeasurable personal and social impacts, the financial cost of road trauma is estimated to be $2.4 billion per year.” While more than $110 million has been invested in regional road upgrades across the Mid West since 2020, and a further $67 million is under way, RAC continues to push for urgent infrastructure improvements and safe driving. “RAC continues to advocate for important upgrades across regional WA to make our roads safer, and we encourage all WA drivers to make safety their top priority when they get behind the wheel,” Mr Heron said. As part of broader efforts to curb road trauma, the State Government has announced the rollout of two high-tech safety camera trailers to be based in Geraldton and deployed across the Mid West. “Regional drivers are over-represented in serious crashes and the rollout of these safety cameras is about saving lives,” Police and Road Safety Minister Reece Whitby said. “My message is simple: put the phone away, wear your seatbelt properly, and slow down. Break the rules, and you will be caught.”