Police investigation under way after passenger dies and seven others injured in crash on Joondalup Drive in Wanneroo
Updated ,first published
The 61-year-old man who died when a Transperth bus crashed into a tree in Wanneroo on Thursday has been identified as Banksia Grove father Rooney Taua.
Taua was one of eight people, including the bus driver, taken to hospital following the crash on Joondalup Drive at around 11am on Thursday.
While the seriously injured 59-year-old woman was treated at Royal Perth Hospital, the 56-year-old bus driver was also taken to the same hospital for treatment of her injuries.
Taua was taken to Joondalup Health Campus with serious injuries, but a WA Police spokesman confirmed the man died in hospital on Friday morning.
A fundraiser started by a relative of Taua’s daughter said the tragedy unfolded “on what was supposed to be an ordinary morning commute.”
“Like countless other mornings, Rooney, a local Banksia Grove resident, left home and caught the bus to work,” wrote Ben Moore.
“He was a quiet force in the lives of those around him, a man who never sought recognition but simply took it upon himself to love and provide for his family.
“His sudden and devastating death left a huge void in the hearts of his family and friends.”
Five other passengers suffered minor injuries when the bus crashed into a tree after the driver lost control at the Joondalup Health Campus.
It appears that the bus went onto the median, crossed to the wrong side of the road, and then crashed into a tree.
Eight St John WA crews attended the scene, along with special operations paramedics.
Witness Tia Anderson told 9News Perth He saw the bus a few minutes before the accident and was the first to help at the scene.
“My first thought was, ‘Oh my God, there’s someone in critical condition’… My first instinct was to give them the blankets and the first aid kit, and we all started CPR,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Public Transport Authority said that the vehicle involved in the accident was bus number 390.
WA Police’s Major Crash unit is investigating the crash and has appealed for any witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers.
Pedestrian injured after car crashes into Murdoch hospital
South of the river, police are also investigating an earlier crash in which a 73-year-old male pedestrian was struck by a car near St John of God Hospital in Murdoch.
“At approximately 10.10am a Nissan Tiida sedan was traveling near the Murdoch Hospital Emergency Department when, for unknown reasons, it struck a pedestrian and then crashed into the building,” a WA Police spokesman said.
The pedestrian was initially treated at Murdoch hospital and then taken to Royal Perth Hospital with critical injuries.
The 83-year-old male driver of the vehicle was slightly injured and was treated.
St. John of God posted on its website to warn patients of the closure.
