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The blue body bags that tell the deathly story of our rocketing road toll

The brutal reality of Jade Lay’s job is evident when he removes items from the back of his car. “What we have here is a body bag,” the Detective Sergeant in WA Police’s Major Crash Investigation Section says matter-of-factly. “As you can see, this is a new one. We don’t usually open them up without putting someone in them. (It’s) one size fits all. They are quite large, we can put someone in it, and we wrap it over the top and seal it together. “In that part there, we put a piece of paper . . . and that’s to identify them in the morgue, because, well, otherwise it’s just a blue bag.” But he knows it’s more than “just a blue bag”. So far this year on Western Australia’s roads, almost 160 blue bags have been pulled out of the back of a police car for an officer to fulfil a foreboding duty. And Det-Sgt Lay follows a respectful process each time he is tasked to use one. “What we do at the scene is we take off all their jewellery,” he explains. “Anything valuable we put to the side in one of those other bags, so family members can have them because it may be a wedding ring or whatever else.” When Det-Sgt Lay talks about his routine he speaks calmly, like someone who’s seen the worst sides of humanity. And maybe that’s because he has, having worked in the child abuse squad for several years before joining the major crash unit. But even though he probably has seen it all, he quietly admits there’s another step after the ‘blue bag’. And that’s what stays with him the most. “Yep, the heaviest coffins are usually the smallest.” When Det-Sgt Lay joined major crash, his first task was to examine a job in Ascot. The victim? Fellow copper Constable Anthony Woods. The 28-year-old officer died after being dragged under a car while trying to stop the maniac driver during a traffic stop. That baptism of fire was confirmation that victims don’t have to be behind the wheel, or in a car, when it all goes wrong. And it also reaffirmed that no one is immune to the dangers of a distracted, deranged or dismissive driver. Those who die could be your workmate, father, mother, sister, stranger, a baby, a brother, or your best friend. Just like the three mates who died in a triple fatality in Carlisle last month. As officers from major crash probed that tragedy, other members of the squad were in Leinster investigating a fiery collision that claimed the life of a NSW father. At the same time, another probe was underway in Upper Warren after a 57-year-old woman died in a rollover. Other officers were also investigating the death of a 14-year-old boy killed in a dirt bike crash and a double fatality where two Indonesian nationals died on Indian Ocean Drive. The numbers click over like a ticking time bomb, and WA’s road toll now sits at 154 — the worst for this time of year in a decade. The public outcry of pain has prompted politicians to respond, with Premier Roger Cook introducing Tom’s Law to help limit distractions for P-platers by restricting the number of passengers in their car. But some, including Georgia Cipriano whose 17-year-old son Levent died in a crash in September, say the new law doesn’t go far enough. She’s adamant that P-platers are still too inexperienced and immature. She may be right. On Thursday, police announced they had charged two teenage P-platers for allegedly racing up to 100kmh over the speed limit. On the back of all the blood on the bitumen, The West Australian was granted unprecedented access to the major crash unit, which includes a handful of specialist detectives, who can be called out to any corner of the State because of what happens on our reckless roads. The engine room for the elite squad is a heritage-listed building in the eastern Perth suburb of Midland. Once inside, nothing is off-limits when The West speaks with Det-Sgt Lay and Acting Detective Sergeant Glenn Burley, two of the State’s most highly regarded investigators. The pair and their colleagues have flown around WA using cutting-edge technology to provide answers to grieving families and prosecute those responsible for causing the carnage. As we speak, CCTV footage plays on a screen of a motorcyclist travelling at 100km/h before crashing into the front of a Hamilton Hill home. The rider pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge after his girlfriend — the pillion passenger — died in hospital from the injuries she suffered when thrown from the bike. Friday marked the one-year anniversary of her death. The rider is due to be sentenced in December. Dash-cam footage then comes up from inside an Audi sedan, showing the car ram head-on into an innocent driver in Baldivis. The three men in the Audi — which was clocked travelling at 163km/h at the time of impact — died at the scene while the female driver in the other car miraculously survived. What’s not on the footage is when the two detectives visit families to break the news that a loved-one has been lost. “The Campo crash was pretty rough,” Det-Sgt Lay says, referring to the July collision which claimed the life of 18-year-old footballer Nick Campo and put two of his mates in hospital with critical injuries. “I think for a lot of people that was mainly because the scene was quite confronting. The scene actually didn’t bother me so much, but my kid played football against him. After a body is pulled from a car by detectives, it is transferred to the morgue. And it’s there where distraught families often request to touch or hold their lifeless loved ones. But due to protocols, this moment of tenderness must often wait until the body is moved to a funeral home. There are four coronial officers who form part of the major crash team and they often stand alongside mothers as they break down behind glass while a child’s body lay motionless in the mortuary. This year those morbid visits have become more frequent, and as the public and politicians reach for solutions, the detectives on the front line reveal the trigger-points for tragedy come down to “speed, fatigue and alcohol”. Both officers say the quality of WA’s roads aren’t bad, it’s poor-driver behaviour. “Cannabis, meth, speed,” Acting Det-Sgt Burley offers before we watch more confronting footage. The squad sees more people lose their lives on our reckless roads than any other policing unit within the Major Crime Division. “I think in one week I had three baby deaths . . . three locations,” Acting Det-Sgt Burley said. “(And it also) comes down to parents taking responsibility for their own kids, to make sure they drive correctly,” Det-Sgt Lay said. “They are driving a lethal weapon at the end of the day and people are just blasé about it. Police can only do so much.” But when things go wrong, the squad uses cutting-edge technology to uncover every detail on why someone has died and who may be responsible. At the scene of a fatality, crash reconstruction officer Senior Constable Michael Feldman will forensically examine the area. He is one of seven reconstruction officers who use science to paint a picture. CCTV and event data recorders — which capture information before airbags are set off — are part of his arsenal used to help outline what may have led to someone’s last moments. Sen. Const. Feldman’s equipment also includes a drone worth tens of thousands of dollars which he flies above car wrecks before turning the footage into a digital reconstruction. “The idea behind it is to try and give the investigators the basics of how the crash unfolded, and then certain specifics, if we can, like speed, and a potential reason why a driver may have left the road,” he says. Major crash officers will mark roads and identify angles at which a vehicle left the bitumen. This forensic detail can even help determine if someone fell asleep behind the wheel. A specialist team of vehicle examiners within WA Police — all qualified mechanics — help remove the data recorders from cars that look unrecognisable. This data could be the difference between holding a reckless driver to account and seeing them remain on the road. Some uniformed officers who attend a fatal crash are provided with three days leave to cope with the traumatic scenes and experiences they may not be able to forget. But, the major crash team simply rinse and repeat. After suffering a brain injury, Det-Sgt Lay says he doesn’t dream — which protects him from the prospect of reoccurring nightmares from the wreckages he’s witnessed. But it also helps to have a happy home life. “If you don’t have everything in your own personal life down packed, it will show up in your work here — it will just destroy everything,” he said. “You have got to make sure that you have a solid base at home, that you are getting support from your family, and you know yourself when you’ve had enough.” But when is enough? As one job ends, another one begins. On a quiet Tuesday morning Det-Sgt Lay and Acting Det-Sgt Burley visited a 28-year-old motorcyclist in Royal Perth Hospital. It was the first time he was able to make a statement after he was run down by an alleged drunk driver the week before. Acting Det-Sgt Burley said the man won’t be able to go to his sister’s wedding as a result of his injuries — which include a shattered pelvis. He describes him as a “good bloke” who is lucky to be alive. “I love talking to people, I love talking to the families, the victims, and just making sure it’s a solid investigation,” he said. “I’ve worked at homicide squad, I’ve worked at organised crime, and here (at major crash) are some of the best investigations we’ll do in the agency. Our investigations are top-level and we get to do that for the family.” But they know the reason they meet these families is never in good circumstances. “It’s not a good idea to think that someone like me will be knocking on your door, telling you that someone is dead, and you get to identify them because of a tag that’s on the body,” Det-Sgt Lay admits. Sometimes, families find out sooner than expected. Det-Sgt Lay recalls a fatality in Perth’s hills. The dead boy’s mother had his location on her phone and hadn’t seen him move for some time. After seeing a rescue-chopper alert pop up in the local community page, she arrived at the site where her son had just been killed. Despite the pain they see, the officers speak with pride in the work they conduct in such a tight-knit team because, without it, families wouldn’t get justice. “Every time we notify the family about a death, they look at us with sad eyes,” Acting Det-Sgt Burley said. “The other day parents threw themselves on the floor. I’ve been grabbed by the vest and just held on tight by someone’s mum for ages. We’ve just got to go in there and tell them.” As we drive around the city discussing the impact that road crashes are having on WA’s psyche, it’s obvious the major crash officers witness horrific and heartbreaking scenes that other people will never see. But maybe people should see some of those unforgettable images. Because as we stop at a set of traffic lights there’s a car next to us with a young man behind the wheel. And he’s on his mobile phone. Road Trauma Support: 1300 004 814

The West Australian exclusiveThe blue body bags that tell the deathly story of our rocketing road toll

exclusive
The blue body bags that tell the deathly story of our rocketing road toll