4 days ago
During a horror year, mothers of Tasmanian road crash victims say the wounds never fully heal
Natalia Pearn was born three weeks late but soon made up for lost time.
"She was bright, bubbly, honest … she had a lot of friends," says her mother, Kris.
"She just blossomed into this beautiful young woman."
One day in March 2013, Natalia texted her parents to say she was looking forward to seeing them when she returned to Launceston.
The 27-year-old never made it home.
For 12 long years, Ms Pearn and her husband Alan have tried to live with a seemingly unshakeable pain.
They moved to the warmer air of Queensland before returning to Tasmania's north about two years ago.
"Your grief goes with you," Ms Pearn said.
"You can't leave it behind."
October 30 this year would have been their youngest daughter's 40th birthday.
Amid a horror year on the state's roads, Ms Pearn believes there is a sense of complacency among many Tasmanian road users.
"It happens without warning, and you have to live with it for the rest of your life," she said.
So far this year, 29 lives have already been lost on Tasmanian roads — compared to 17 this time 12 months ago.
And there are still four months to go.
Over the past decade, the average number of Tasmanian road fatalities per year is 35.
Chair of the state's Road Safety Advisory Council, Scott Tilyard, does not shy away from the tragic reality.
The former police officer identified the usual suspects of speeding, drugs and alcohol, unworn seat belts and, more commonly, "split seconds of inattention" that can have disastrous consequences.
The Tasmanian government had aimed to reduce annual serious injuries and deaths on the roads to fewer than 200 by 2026.
But there have already been about 180 serious injuries this year, according to the Department of State Growth.
"We're not going to achieve that target, just as the national targets are way off track," Mr Tilyard said.
He said the next road strategy needed to be met with significant government investment into the "key elements" — safe roads, safe vehicles, safe speeds and safe road users.
"We need to be more transparent and accountable so that we're sharing the data that we need to develop the right priorities and actions under the plan," he said.
Many sleepless nights ago, there was a time when Maureen Armstrong was the "happiest girl in Tasmania".
Surrounded by her husband and their two teenage boys, hers was a tight-knit northern Tasmanian family.
Then, on a summer night in 1990, her eldest son Wayne and his partner went on a drive to Longford.
"I just said to them 'be careful', because that's what mums always say to their kids," Ms Armstrong recalled.
It would be the last time she would see Wayne alive.
She remembers the ambulance "screaming past" to the scene of their son's head-on car collision.
She remembers the call from Devonport Police.
Although there was "no hope", Wayne was flown to hospital in Hobart, but by the time Ms Armstrong arrived, it was too late.
She remains haunted by the thought that she could not give her son a "proper goodbye".
"To a mother, her children are her world."
These days, she too is concerned by complacency on the roads, becoming particularly frustrated every time she sees drivers using their mobile phones.
"It's not just young people, it's mature-aged people," she said.
Ms Armstrong grieves for every young life lost on the state's roads.
"That's the sad part about it all," she said.
"I know I'm not alone."
Darcy Waud would have turned 21 this October.
But the popular young boilermaker is now among those who have lost their lives on Tasmanian roads in 2025.
"You don't believe it's real," his mother Natasha said.
She said people "migrated" to her son, who enjoyed the company of others as much as they cherished his.
In the early hours of April 6, he was the passenger in a car that collided with cattle on a quiet road in the state's north.
Darcy died at the scene.
Ms Waud said the exact circumstances leading to the tragedy were still to be determined.
However, having lost her youngest child, Ms Waud knows for sure that life will never again be the same.
"You can't comprehend the impact it has on families," she said.
"Our whole family has been shattered by this.
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Kerry Vincent said the government had invested $75 million into road safety over the past five years.
"Our roads are becoming safer, as are many vehicles," he said.
"But road safety is a shared responsibility that requires commitment from all sectors of our community — from governments to individual users."
