Nadine lost her brother at a young age. She's made it her life's work to prevent other deaths
Nadine Willis describes older brother Darren Ippaviz as her 'hero'. He was the elder of her two brothers – they were separated by a 12-year age gap – but his taste in music and love for motorbikes and cars made a lasting impression.
'I remember his face, his smile, his cuddles, his smell,' she says. 'My time with him was way too short.'
On the evening of March 30, 1985, Darren, 18, was killed while sitting in the front passenger seat of a friend's car. The vehicle was involved in a street race with another car, but Darren's friend lost control, skidding for 75 metres before colliding with a power pole. Darren suffered serious injuries and was pronounced dead soon after arriving at Mount Druitt Hospital.
Nadine recalls seeing her sobbing mother being comforted after receiving the news. 'Our family life was never the same … I don't remember a great deal of laughter in our home from this time.'
Now Nadine, a NSW Police officer of 21 years and a traffic officer of 16, is sharing her story in the hope it will help bring an end 'stupid and unnecessary' deaths like Darren's. She has made it her life's work, joining NSW Police with the 'sole reason' of joining the highway patrol.
NSW Police has recently launched a massive anti-drink driving blitz, as part of Operation RAID (Remove All Impaired Drivers), with thousands of random alcohol and drug tests carried out last week. It conducted about 110,000 breath tests, detecting 132 drink-driving offences.
Some 131 people have already died in crashes in NSW this year – 19 more than this time last year. In April, four of the 36 fatal crashes are believed to be alcohol-related and seven are believed to be drug-related. David Driver, commander of the traffic and highway patrol command, says the death toll so far this year is 'still 131 too many'.
'It is concerning to see any offence occur on our roads, but particularly drink- and drug-driving combined with high speed.'
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