A woman who died in a horror bus rollover along the Bruce Hwy in north Queensland has been identified, as a passenger who survives the crash speaks out about the ordeal.
Argentinian-Italian tourist Serena Andreatta, 26, died in the rollover south of Townsville on Thursday.
Seventeen other people on the bus were injured, including three people who were severely injured. Nine passengers did not require medical treatment.
Erica Chindamo was on the bus, and told 9News she did not blame the bus driver for the crash.
“The driver was a lovely man, he was really kind, he was gentle,” Ms Chindamo said.
“I just have concern that maybe he shouldn’t have been alone for a trip this long.”
Ms Chindamo said she was asleep when the bus rolled, and saw Ms Andreatta’s panicked friend in the aftermath.
“I woke up laying on the broken windows.
“I remember someone saying ‘I can’t find my friend’.
“That girl is not moving and she was literally three seats in front of me.”
“I don’t think as much as you see it you will ever be ready to see someone die.”
Coach operator FlixBus said company staff were “deeply saddened” by the news of Ms Andreatta’s death.
“We are heartbroken to learn one passenger has since passed away in hospital,” FlixBus said in a statement.
“Our thoughts are with their family, friends and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”
The budget coach operator only began services in Australia last year; however have been operating across Europe since 2011.
The crash happened 135km south of Townsville on Thursday afternoon, on Queensland’s notorious Bruce Highway.
The 1600km highway running along the state’s coast has a long history of fatal crashes linked to maintenance standards or delayed upgrades. In June 2024 on the same stretch of highway near Gumlu, a tourist coach with 33 passengers on board crossed the centre line, hit a car head-on, killing three bus passengers; two German tourists and a Townsville woman. The Greyhound bus driver in that incident was found not guilty this month of dangerous driving causing death and grievous bodily harm.
On Friday the Queensland Premier said the highway was not up to scratch.
“Without speaking specifically about the incident, I’ve long been on the record (for) the need to improve that Bruce Highway,” David Crisafulli said.
“It’s such an important road for our state, for our nation, and it’s not up to scratch, and we have to do everything we can to continue to invest in it so we can take it to the next level.”
Ms Andreatta had travelled through southeast Asia before arriving in Australia, and the bus was being operated by a contractor to FlixBus.
The crash happened near Gumlu, and the 70-year-old bus driver from Mackay also suffered minor injuries.
Mr Crisafulli earlier said Ms Andreatta was on “a trip of a lifetime”.
“Someone in the prime of their life, on the trip of a lifetime, in another country, has lost their life,” he told ABC News on Friday.
“I think today people want me to acknowledge what is an incredible tragedy, and we should pause and reflect on that.”
Queensland Police Superintendent Dean Cavanagh said of the 28 passengers on the bus travelling from Cairns to Airlie Beach, most were foreign nationals.
“All of those passengers were tourists, the majority were from overseas,” he previously told the media.
