Two men survived the crash - then the fire began.
asserted
fire → survive → crash
Four years after Ede Taric and Gerry Hoekstra died during the Rainbow Desert Enduro in Victoria's west, Taric's wife has launched legal action alleging the buggy's fuel system failed in the moments after it hit a tree, leaving her husband unable to escape the flames.
asserted
it → die → flames
Juanita Wilkinson filed the writ on October 12 through Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.
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Wilkinson → file → Lawyers
According to the Supreme Court of Victoria claim, Taric, a father of four girls, was the navigator in a modified 2021 Can-Am Maverick X3 driven by Hoekstra when it collided with a tree on Fuller Road, Rainbow, on September 4, 2022.
uncertain
it → accord → September
It is alleged the buggy rolled and came to rest on the navigator's side, with both men surviving the initial impact.
asserted
men → allege → impact
Documents obtained by the Daily Mail state that the plastic fuel cap and filler neck of an auxiliary fuel tank fitted to the buggy became detached in the crash.
asserted
cap → obtain → crash
Without a reflux valve, it is alleged fuel 'flowed freely' from the wrecked buggy and was ignited by hot engine components, a turbocharger and/or catalytic converter.
asserted
fuel → allege → components
The vehicle was 'engulfed in fire', incinerating the still-alive driver and navigator.
asserted
vehicle → engulf → driver
'The deceased was unable to self-extricate from the vehicle and died as a result of the effects of the fire,' the claim stated.
uncertain
claim → extricate → fire
Ede Taric (pictured) was alive after the buggy crashed, but was incinerated in the resulting fire
Ms Wilkinson is seeking damages for the benefit of her and other dependents of Taric, including loss of financial support and household services and funeral expenses, as well as damages for nervous shock.
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Wilkinson → picture → shock
Four defendants are named in the writ, which is scheduled to go to trial in Melbourne.
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which → name → Melbourne
Motorsport Australia, which the claim says issued the permit for the event and was responsible for prescribing and enforcing safety rules for off-road motorsport, is the first.
uncertain
claim → say → motorsport
The third is Brown Davis Automotive, which the claim states made and supplied the auxiliary fuel tank.
uncertain
claim → state → tank
The fourth is BRP Australia, alleged to be the importer, wholesaler and distributor of Can-Am vehicles in Australia.
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fourth → allege → Australia
The claim alleges negligence against all four.
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claim → allege → four
The crash happened on Father's Day in 2022, on the second day of racing.
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crash → happen → racing
Taric, then 50, had stepped in as navigator at the last minute for Hoekstra, 46, of Upper Beaconsfield - a veteran of Victorian and Tasmanian Sprintcar racing who had recently taken up off-road buggy racing.
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who → step → racing
Juanita Wilkinson and Ede Taric are pictured in happier times
The Rainbow Desert Enduro was a premier, gruelling off-road racing event held in the town of Rainbow.
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Enduro → picture → Rainbow
The event has not returned to the national calendar following the tragic crash
The race was abandoned after the crash.
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race → return → crash
It was reported that drivers and marshals rushed to help, but were unable to save the pair.
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drivers → report → pair
'Ede poured love on everyone he met,' Taric's family said in a tribute.
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family → pour → tribute
Friend Robert Gussenhoven wrote: 'We lost two great guys... doing something they loved.'
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they → write → something
In August, a coronial inquest found members of the Rainbow Country Fire Authority had arrived at the scene approximately 12 to 13 minutes after the incident and put the fire out.
'The post-mortem examination showed both men had survived the collision but not the effects of the fire,' it stated.
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it → find → fire
Coroner Ingrid Giles called for better fire safety requirements for off-road vehicles and competitors following the investigation.
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Giles → call → investigation
The coroner said the minimum required six-kilogram extinguishers were inadequate to combat a fire of the scale that killed the occupants.
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that → say → occupants
Gerry Hoekstra had been driving the doomed buggy
Gerry Hoekstra with his wife, Deborah
The coroner made three recommendations to Motorsport Australia and the Australian Auto-Sport Alliance, to be implemented with immediate effect or before the end of the season.
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coroner → drive → season
Those include requiring vehicles competing in off-road events to be fitted with plumbed-in fire extinguisher systems and mandatory testing of all competitors as part of pre-event scrutineering to ensure that each occupant can self-extricate within 10 seconds.
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occupant → include → seconds
The coroner noted that since the crash, Motorsport Australia had mandated reflux valves in fuel tanks and double the required capacity for hand-held fire extinguishers for off-road racing.
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Australia → note → racing
Maurice Blackburn declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail.
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Blackburn → decline → Mail
The Aporia
