Latest news with #Traralgon
ABC News
23-05-2025
- ABC News
Man arrested after pedestrian's body discovered on Morwell roadside
Police have interviewed a man following the discovery of a body on the side of a road in Morwell in eastern Victoria. Police say a 40-year-old father from Traralgon was walking along the base of the Princes Way overpass on the Princes Freeway when he was likely struck by a vehicle. His body was discovered at about 9am on Thursday by a commuter. Sergeant Mark Amos of the Major Collision Investigation Unit told the ABC the deceased man's body could have been lying in the grass for eight hours. "He's been found next to the barrier with injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle," he said. Detectives searched the scene for evidence for most of Thursday. A 28-year-old Lakes Entrance man was arrested 128 kilometres away in Bairnsdale late on Thursday afternoon and has been interviewed by police. He has been released without charge pending further enquiries. Police are calling on people who were driving in the area between 1am and 9am on Thursday, May 22, to come forward with information that may be of interest. They are also asking anyone with road-facing CCTV to look through the footage.
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- News.com.au
Man, 40, killed in suspected hit-and-run on Princes Freeway overpass at Morwell
A man has been killed in a suspected hit-and-run on a freeway in regional Victoria. The 40-year-old man's body was found by a passer-by on the Princes Freeway overpass at Morwell just before 9am Thursday. Early police investigations suggest the Traralgon man was struck by a vehicle that has then fled the scene. Police believe the collision occurred between 1am and 9am on Thursday. Detectives are urging motorists who were travelling to Traralgon along the Princes Freeway within that time period to check their dashcams, as they may have inadvertently captured the man as he was walking or the vehicle involved. It was expected detectives would be processing the scene most of Thursday. Anyone with information or dashcam footage has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
7NEWS
22-05-2025
- 7NEWS
Police appeal for information after man killed in suspected hit-and-run in Victoria's Morwell
Police are appealing for information after a man was found dead on the roadside in a suspected hit-and-run. A passerby found the body of the 40-year-old Traralgon man about 9am on Thursday on the Princes Fwy overpass above Princess Dr in the southeast Victorian town of Morwell. Investigators believe he was struck by a vehicle sometime between 1am and 9am, with the driver leaving the scene. Detectives are urging Traralgon-bound motorists who were on the Princes Fwy during that time to check their dashcams. 'Motorists may have inadvertently captured the man as he was walking in the area, or the vehicle involved,' police said. Officers will remain at the scene for most of the day as investigations continue. Anyone with information or footage is urged to come forward.
ABC News
11-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Firefighter with terminal cancer wants to change presumptive compensation rules to help others
Simon Lund has lived his entire adult life in uniform. After a stint in the navy cut short by a knee injury, the 56-year-old had his first shifts as a volunteer firefighter with the Country Fire Authority (CFA) in 1998. He loved it so much, he never left and spent the next 25 years working as a CFA senior technical field officer on some of the biggest fire emergencies Victoria has ever seen. "I do love my job. It's been great in the fact that I've been able to meet so many good people," Simon says. But 12 months ago, Simon and his wife Tracie, a Latrobe City councillor who has dedicated her life to helping others through Foodbank and the local Neighbourhood House, were delivered news that turned their lives upside down. Simon first started feeling unwell in March last year, getting indigestion and having difficulty swallowing. Tests with local doctors in Traralgon were inconclusive, so he went to Melbourne for a second opinion. A diagnostic scope revealed that Simon had stage 4 oesophageal cancer. Doctors have attributed the diagnosis to his exposure to carcinogenic materials. "You never think it's going to happen to you," he says. 'It's like being slapped in the face with a wet fish. It was pretty hard. I knew as soon as the surgeon said that, that was it." Tracie recalls the agony of the long drive home from Box Hill Hospital to Traralgon to tell the couple's three adult children the life-changing news. "We were trying to find the words to tell our kids," she says. "I was just so broken. I just could not get my head around what they had just said to us, what that actually meant." In his technical role with the CFA, Simon worked on major fires across the state, including the fatal Black Saturday and Black Summer bushfires. His job was to set up all of the gear required at district headquarters and command centres on fire sites, including at the toxic Hazelwood Mine fire in 2014. But the long-term health implications of what he was being exposed to never crossed his mind. Simon says incident control staff were provided with standard PS2 masks and PPE gear, while firefighters who went down into the mine were issued with breathing apparatus. "I can remember walking into the training building, and there's a corridor that's probably about 20 metres long, and I couldn't see halfway down the corridor," he says. The Lund family initially kept Simon's diagnosis private, keeping their minds busy with work. Overwhelmed with feelings of grief and dread, they navigated the bleak practicalities of treatment plans, palliative care, updating wills, and sorting out superannuation. The Firefighters' Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Services Legislation Amendment (Reform) Act 2019 ensures Victorian firefighters who are diagnosed with certain cancers are entitled to compensation. His treating oncologist found there was a "sufficient probability" that Simon's exposure to smoke, fumes, ash and dust from fires, including chemical fires and significant coal mine fires, had "at least partly contributed to his risk of developing gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinoma". But as he was employed in an IT role, Simon is not eligible for presumptive rights. "With presumptive legislation, it's presumed that you have the cancer and that someone else has to prove that you don't, whereas with WorkCover it's the opposite," he says. His initial WorkCover claim was rejected and, as his health declined, Simon found himself burdened with the administrative nightmare of having to prove that he had physically attended fires and been exposed to carcinogenic risk. That involved gathering evidence such as 25 years' worth of photos, pay slips, call-out records, and information on fire conditions to support his second WorkCover claim. It was a traumatic and exhausting exercise that cost Simon and Tracie much of the precious time they had left together. Finally, with the help of lawyers, Simon's WorkCover claim was accepted. But the challenges he encountered in proving his claim would motivate the Lund family to campaign for presumptive legislation to be expanded to include professional, technical, and administrative CFA employees. "I don't want anyone to go through that when they should be spending time with their family and their friends and their colleagues and trying to enjoy the last of whatever timeframe they've got," Simon says. A spokesperson for the state government says it will continue to monitor whether Victoria's presumptive compensation legislation appropriately reflects the increased risks some emergency service workers can face due to their service. Last month, Simon was presented with a National Service Medal from the Governor-General for his service with the CFA. The Lunds have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and offers of support from their Latrobe Valley community since Simon's diagnosis. "Some days we are OK, sometimes we're really focused, almost like warriors, thinking we're going conquer this, we're going to change the legislation, everything is going to be alright," Simon says. "And then there are other days where we physically can't get out of bed." Simon has been particularly humbled by the people who have reached out in his final months to tell him what he means to them. "The only way our family can make any sense of it is to channel that anger, that despair, the fear and the dread into something positive to try and make some change for all the staff that will come after us," Tracie says. Simon's gruelling rounds of cancer treatment have ended now. He is in palliative care. But earlier this year, he fulfilled a lifelong dream, purchasing a Holden SS Crewman ute, which he'll take out for a spin again when he's up to it. "[Simon's] idea of a date was to get me in the ute and drive down to the ice cream shop at Traralgon and buy me ice cream. So we would really like to be able to do that," Tracie says. On advice from a friend, Tracie and Simon also indulged in booking a "yes" holiday, making lasting memories with the kids on a trip to New Zealand. During the holiday, Simon, a former naval officer, enjoyed a bumpy dinner cruise on rough seas, while the rest of the family groaned with seasickness. "We weren't undercover, it was absolutely freezing, the boat is going up and down, and I'm going, 'I'm absolutely loving this!'" Simon says.
