Woman dies after crash with police van

[TVR-190]

A SELFLESS woman who spent a month helping Queensland flood victims has been killed in a car accident with a police vehicle.
Gillian Harman, 48, was driving towards her home in Guyra, near Armidale, NSW, when a police vehicle responding to a Triple-0 call collided with her car.

The impact of the collision flipped Ms Harman’s Toyota sedan onto it’s side, and she died at the scene from horrific injuries.

Her mother Jan Harman told The Daily Telegraph Ms Harman was a hard-working and adored woman, who had just returned from a month of volunteering in QLD.

"She works for Centrelink ... they asked for volunteers to go up to QLD, and she said yes straight away," Mrs Harman said.

"That’s the sort of person she was," Mrs Harman said.

Ms Harman was driving home from work in Armidale on Wednesday night, when the accident happened at the intersection of Faulkner and Newton Sts in Armidale.

Police said two officers were on their way to an "urgent domestic dispute".

"The two male officers in the police van were able to get out. They tried to help the 48-year-old woman from Guyra who was the sole occupant of the sedan. She sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene," police said in a statement.

A critical incident team is investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Sources told The Daily Telegraph they believe police were travelling at high speed and there was a question of whether police were using their lights and sirens.

As much as I feel sorry for the lady that died, they are sorta turning this against the police a lot.

[mwb235]

As much as I feel sorry for the lady that died, they are sorta turning this against the police a lot.

Where's Mark Riley and his Channel 7 aresholes when you need them - they'd blame the police no questions asked...

[Trayner]

Bloody Hoon drivers!, Hooning was the cause of the crash

Oh wait there Police , must be an accident then ...

[soop]

Shit happens...

(idiot should have paid attention, who misses lights and sirens, this should go in the Darwinism thread)

[Julie]

I don't think there is any need to lay any blame on anyone or speculate until it has been investigated, even then the real blame would lie at whom ever was causing this 'urgent domestic dispute'.

[soop]

I don't think there is any need to lay any blame on anyone or speculate until it has been investigated, even then the real blame would lie at whom ever was causing this 'urgent domestic dispute'.

With that logic, if you have to call an Ambulance and it crashes into a school bus and kills at 34kids inside, you're to blame?

[STEALTHY™]

With that logic, if you have to call an Ambulance and it crashes into a school bus and kills at 34kids inside, you're to blame?

Bloody hell soop, stop mass murdering children

[ClairBear]

Vacancy at Centrelink for a CSO.

[Jebadayah]

Will the Police get their van impounded for 28 days?

[soop]

bloody hell soop, stop mass murdering children

lol!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ClairBear]

Oh, now she is a teacher not a Centrelink worker:

GILLIAN Harman, 48, died after her Toyota Corolla sedan collided with the marked van heading to a violent domestic situation in Armidale involving a man armed with an axe.

Her mother Janet Harman was on Thursday trying to come to terms with the untimely death of her schoolteacher daughter, from Guyra.

[TVR-190]

I like how they were going on about how she helped out during the floods etc, How is it relevant, And why is there nothing about the police backgrounds.

[CSP]

Having driven emergency services vehicles under lights and sirens, I really feel sorry for the Police Officer that was driving. They ARE to blame 100% and will probably never recover from causing this. Regardless of whether you're under lights and sirens, ALL ROAD RULES STILL APPLY TO YOU. You're only to proceed through red lights or drive above the speed limit if it's safe to do so. If they went through a Give Way at speed without it being safe (i.e. there was another car that had right of way - and yes, they still have right of way), they're screwed!

[vr94ss]

Shit happens...

(idiot should have paid attention, who misses lights and sirens, this should go in the Darwinism thread)

The article states in the last paragraph "A critical incident team is investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Sources told The Daily Telegraph they believe police were travelling at high speed and there was a question of whether police were using their lights and sirens." So they may _not_ have had them on. Should be easy to do some door knocking to find out if anyone heard sirens/saw lights.

If they weren't using sirens/lights what will your opinion be then?

[STEALTHY™]

If they weren't using sirens/lights what will your opinion be then?

Drive better? Just because you have right of way doesn't mean you drive blindly into intersections...

[vr94ss]

Drive better? Just because you have right of way doesn't mean you drive blindly into intersections...

I don't think people would be expecting a divi van flying through an intersection at high speed with no sirens/lights. Not saying that is the case but it's a possibility ATM. If this was a hoon in a stolen car screaming through an intersection and totaling someone, will you then say those dead should have driven better? No-one slows down at every intersection when they have right of way "just to be sure."

[soop]

They always investigate.

I'll bet $10 they had them on.

[Full Spectrum]

Last week i was doing a u-turn at a section which is for that very thing. We have the u-turn signal the full right of way. as i was going around a car went through a red light. it was an unmarked police vehicle. no light, no sirens. could have removed my front end with ease. then on the other hand, i see so many people driving with their heads in the clouds when emergency vehicles are approaching... If i can remove myself from the road whenever i hear sirens i do well and truly before they are behind me.

[vr94ss]

Last week i was doing a u-turn at a section which is for that very thing. We have the u-turn signal the full right of way. as i was going around a car went through a red light. it was an unmarked police vehicle. no light, no sirens. could have removed my front end with ease. then on the other hand, i see so many people driving with their heads in the clouds when emergency vehicles are approaching... If i can remove myself from the road whenever i hear sirens i do well and truly before they are behind me.

Last Friday coming home from work at 2.45pm I was doing 40 in a school zone and was passed by the cops still doing their 60k. No kids were out yet and they didn't "just miss" anyone but yeah...

[Full Spectrum]

Last Friday coming home from work at 2.45pm I was doing 40 in a school zone and was passed by the cops still doing their 60k. No kids were out yet and they didn't "just miss" anyone but yeah...

And if you take down their registration and report it. shit happens to you.

[NonStick Squid]

i see cops put the lights on to do illegal manouvers all the time thats cops for ya

[soop]

" Oh noes, dems breakin da lawz y0"

I'm sure they're not doing it just to give you the shits.
The situation is easy really, dumb bitch didn't look and drove out infront of a Police car responding to an emergency. She died. Diddums.

Stupid is as stupid does.

[vr94ss]

" Oh noes, dems breakin da lawz y0"

I'm sure they're not doing it just to give you the shits.
The situation is easy really, dumb bitch didn't look and drove out infront of a Police car responding to an emergency. She died. Diddums.

Stupid is as stupid does.

Heh.. We could use some judges like you in our courts soop

[vsl67]

Any officail invsetigation will clear the police or if they found at fault because they cant get out of it they will get off lightly with the police union carry on withs its usual hard done by BS ,
the old joke about the abos walking down the road and be hit by a drunk police officer putting one through the windscreen and throwing the other down the road 100m
and the police charging one with braking and entering and the other with leaving a scene of accident would be funny if the police didnt have so many double standards

[STEALTHY™]

I don't think people would be expecting a divi van flying through an intersection at high speed with no sirens/lights. Not saying that is the case but it's a possibility ATM. If this was a hoon in a stolen car screaming through an intersection and totaling someone, will you then say those dead should have driven better? No-one slows down at every intersection when they have right of way "just to be sure."

The only giveways in my area are 50 roads, so yes, i slow down enough that if some hero is being mark skaife i can avoid being apart of his wreck.

I'm with soop on this one, was probably just a stupid driver not paying attention to the road and it cost her her life. Shit happens. Too many times drivers cant even see/hear when theres emergency vehicles right behind them, i'm sure you'd be pretty pissed if the cops coming to assist you were involved in a crash because of a dumbass driver.