Gary Cahill: Adored grandfather on daily postie run when he was tragically killed in horror car crash

An adored grandfather and local postman had been on his daily postie run when he was tragically killed in a horror crash near Bridgetown. Gary Cahill is one of a dozen people who have been killed on the roads in the past six days — believed to be one of the deadliest weeks in history. The road toll now stands at 112 — the worst for this time of year in 18 years. Mr Cahill was driving his Holden Commodore sedan station wagon when it crashed with a Toyota Landcruiser utility on Gommes Lane near Yornup — about 12.5km south of Bridgetown — on Monday morning. The 73-year-old suffered serious injuries and died at the scene. The occupants of the Landcruiser, including a 19-year-old male driver, received minor injuries. Monday marked the second tragedy in eight months for the family, with Mr Cahill’s son, Glen Cahill, was allegedly king hit outside Hillarys Beach Club on Melbourne Cup day last year. He was left fighting for life after the attack but miraculously survived. In a statement to The West Australian, the Cahill family said Gary Cahill’s sudden death had left a “massive hole” in their family and the wider Bridgetown community. “He was married to Karen for 49 years, always keeping her on her toes,” the family said. “(He was) the most fun-loving dad to Glen, Denise and Mandy, and ‘gramps’ to five grandchildren who absolutely adored him.” Mr Cahill worked in Bridgetown for more than two decades. “He was the milkman in town for more than 20 years and more recently the postie,” the family said. “He loved caravan adventures with his brother Lindsay and tinkering away on his vintage cars and caravans.” Twelve people have been killed on WA roads since Thursday. “We need drivers to connect with the reality that their choices behind the wheel matter, that the difference between a near-miss and a fatal crash might come down to one of a million small choices they make every day,” Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner said. “Too many people rationalise that a little bit of rule breaking, a little bit of risk taking is OK, but if enough people make safer choices on the road more often, we can shift the dial.” Among the crashes include an incident on Tuesday, where a 65-year-old man was killed after his Holden Colorado tray-top utility collided with a Kenworth truck in Petrudor — about 40km east of Dalwallinu. The 25-year-old truck driver received minor injuries and he was taken to Dalwallinu Hospital. Just four hours later, a 45-year-old driver in a Citroen hatchback smashed into a Nissan Dualis station wagon on Broomehill-Gnowangerup Road in Pallinup. The driver of the Nissan, a 26-year-old man, was seriously injured and was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital by the RAC Rescue helicopter. Then about 7pm, in Binningup, a 37-year-old man was killed when he was struck by a Nissan X-Trail while walking on Forrest Highway, about 29km north of Bunbury. The 49-year-old male driver of the Nissan was not injured. And on Wednesday morning, a 65-year-old man died after his Toyota Corolla hatchback smashed into a Kenworth road train on Great Eastern Highway in Irishtown, about 10km north of Northam. The 47-year-old male driver of the road train received minor injuries. Police Commissioner Col Blanch said he was “frustrated” by the rising number of fatalities and pleaded with drivers to stop touching their mobile phones. “It’s not just about the deceased, it’s about their families, it’s about the first responders, it’s about the witnesses to those accidents,” he said. “Road deaths have so much consequential damage, it’s outrageous because most of them are preventable deaths. “We did 2.4 million breath tests on the road in the last 12 months (and gave out) more enforcement fines than ever before, but that message about picking up your phone and paying attention is still not getting through to some of our drivers. “My message to all drivers is to prioritise your life and the lives of others over what’s on your phone.” Mr Blanch said he was looking at having to boost the major crash squad if the horror run continued. “(The numbers are) a constant review at the moment,” he said. “They’re managing the workload, but as we’ve seen in the last two weeks, I’ll probably have to reassess that.” Shadow road safety minister Julie Freeman said the WA’s road toll was at crisis point. “We are on track for the worst road toll since 2008, when 205 Western Australians lost their lives,” she said. “Every one of the (112) lives lost is a heartbreaking tragedy for families, friends, workmates, and communities.”