Inquest into the Death of Bubba E (Name Subject to Suppression Order)
Inquest into the Death of Bubba E (Name Subject to Suppression Order)
Delivered on : 17 February 2025
Delivered at : Perth
Finding of : Coroner Jenkin
Recommendations : No
Orders/Rules : No
Suppression Order : Yes
On the basis that it would be contrary to the public interest, I make the following order pursuant to section 49(1)(b) of the Coroners Act 1996 (WA): There be no reporting or publication of the deceased’s name and/or any evidence likely to lead to the child’s identification. The deceased is to be referred to as “Bubba E”.
Summary : Bubba E died from multiple injuries when she was flung from a car whose driver lost control after taking evasive action to avoid colliding with a truck. Bubba E was eight years of age.
On 3 September 2022, Bubba E and two of her siblings were taken into the care of the Director General “on the grounds of substantiated harm as a result of Neglect, Physical Abuse, and Emotional Abuse”. Bubba E and her siblings were placed into the care of their maternal grandmother (Ms C) under an Interim Placement Arrangement.
From November 2022, the Department’s began its efforts to reunify Bubba E and her siblings with their mother. At the time of her death, Bubba E was in the temporary care of Ms A, and she and her siblings were the subject of a safety plan that was implemented on 9 August 2023.
On 3 September 2023, Bubba E and other family members were in a vehicle (the Vehicle) travelling north-east along Millstream Road, an unsealed road near Fortescue. The group was returning home after attending a rodeo event in Pannawonica that weekend. At around the same time a white truck was travelling in the opposite direction (i.e.: south-west) along Millstream Road. The white truck, which had been observed earlier by several independent witnesses, was travelling at speed and said to be “hugging the centre of the road”.
According to the driver of the Vehicle, at about 11.45 am she was travelling between 80 to 100 km per hour as the truck approached her. The truck was travelling in the centre of Millstream Road, and the driver of the Vehicle says that as she turned her steering wheel to avoid colliding with the truck, the Vehicle rolled over.
None of the occupants of the Vehicle were their wearing seatbelts, and during the roll over, several passengers (including Bubba E) were ejected. As a result of being thrown from the Vehicle, Bubba E sustained serious injuries and despite extensive resuscitation efforts, she was declared deceased at the scene.
The white truck and its driver were not able to be identified. Police enquiries established that the driver of the Vehicle had never held a Western Australian driver’s licence, and a blood test taken after the crash found she had tetrahydrocannabinol (indicating cannabis use) in her system, along with a blood alcohol level of 0.019%.
After carefully considering all of the available evidence, the coroner found that the Department’s decision to take Bubba E (and her siblings) into care on 3 September 2022 was appropriate, given the “substantiated harm as a result of Neglect, Physical Abuse, and Emotional Abuse” which the children were then being exposed to.
The coroner also found that the Department’s selection of Ms C as foster carer for Bubba E and her siblings was appropriate, as were the reunification efforts which were underway at the time of Bubba E’s death.
At the end of the evidence, Bubba E’s family submitted that it was open to the coroner to recommend that the Road Safety Commission (Commission) conduct an education program (in a culturally appropriate manner) targeted at Aboriginal drivers and vehicle occupants in regional areas, reminding them of the grave dangers of not wearing seatbelts and strongly urging all vehicle occupants to do so.
However, the coroner concluded that the Commission’s current and previous media campaigns (including those specifically targeted at Aboriginal road users) adequately addressed the importance of all vehicle occupants wearing seatbelts, and therefore the suggested recommendation was not required.
Catch Words : Mandatory : Child in care : Wearing of seatbelts : Accident
Last updated: 25 February 2025