Triathlete dies after hit-and-run

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Triathlete dies after hit-and-run

From our wire services
13jan02

PROMINENT triathlete Luke Harrop has died, a day after being struck by a car in a hit and run collison while he was training on his bike.

Harrop, 24, suffered severe head injuries and died in hospital on the Gold Coast.

A contender for Australia's Commonwealth Games team, he was training for today's second round of the Accenture triathlon series when hit by a stolen car about 6am yesterday.

Fellow triathletes were told of Harrop's death in a loudspeaker announcement during the triathlon on the Gold Coast today.

The younger brother of former women's world champion Loretta Harrop, he was a popular member of the large squad under the guidance of leading coach Col Stewart.

Both Loretta Harrop and her brother's flatmate, world champion Chris Hill, withdrew from today's competition while Harrop lay in a critical condition in Southport Hospital.

Men's race winner Courtney Atkinson said the races were emotionally-charged as a result of Harrop's plight and all the contenders were racing with him in their thoughts.

from www.news.com.au

The bitch that did this needs shooting

i heard he was hit by a car on the radio but i did not think it was that bad. that is very sad. :'( I hope they catch the person that did it. i better not say what i think of him (the car driver) as the forum rules whould be broken.

Nic, he was hit by some chick in a stolen car.

Also Craig O'Connell, of Brisbane is in hospital with two broken vertebrae as a result of the same accident

yep i know i saw it on the news. apparently the police know who she is now and rang her on her mobile phone. but have not arrested her yet.

i think it will be interesting to see what punishment she will get.

Wont be much, maybe some community service or something, quite an insult really

Sickening! >:(

Luke with his sister Loretta after a race  :-[ this guy was a legend in the making.

http://www.cyclingforums.com/images/luke-loretta.jpg

On behalf of everyone who has ever visited this website, I would like to offer our deepest sympathy to Luke Harrop's family, coming to terms with such a tragic event like this is something most of can't imagine.

yes i second that admin

btw : they could the woman driver of the car this morning and arested her ;D

Luke with his sister Loretta after a race  :-[ this guy was a legend in the making.

On behalf of everyone who has ever visited this website, I would like to offer our deepest sympathy to Luke Harrop's family, coming to terms with such a tragic event like this is something most of can't imagine.



Ditto! :(

May I suggest that
we find a Gold Coast Web Site,
say, Gold Coast Tourist Bureau,
      Gold Coast Bussiness Association
      Gold Coast Office of the Mayor
or something high-powered and relevant, and then, each of us who is concerned, send a private email to the site with the text of the message 1. deploring the lack of safe cycling facilities, and 2. cancel next year's holiday on the Gold Coast,
3. ask if they have a bike plan or what? in place, 4. has it been implemented?

If enough of us do this, to every city where a cyclist is bashed, maimed or murdered, it may cause someone to sit up and take notice. A form of organized protest, if you will.
But do keep it clean, please.

Would the person who finds the one most suitable address kindly post it here, so I, for one, can act on it.

Okay, so the Gold Coast probably has more visitors from overseas than local, but we must have some effect. Bad Publicity for starters.
Thanks.

The bitch that did this needs shooting

Well folks here's the upshot:

A 41-year old woman has been sentenced to just over two years' jail over the death of triathlete Luke Harrop, who was hit by a car while he was on a training ride on the Gold Coast in January.
Sandra Jaye Wilde today pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death. The court heard Wilde was on bail when the accident occurred and was driving without a licence, fleeing the scene, and later resisting a citizens arrest.
The judge sentenced Wilde to two years and four months jail for killing Luke Harrop and to 18 months jail on other unrelated charges.
The judge recommended Wilde be eligible for parole after 18 months.

Words fail me but not Russell Harrop (Lukes father) who is reported in the Brisbane Courier Mail as saying "You're telling me that's all my son's life is worth?  There's something radically wrong I think"

How can you ever reconcile all of that?  A bloody disgrace!

Got this off cyclignews.com:

Woman jailed for Harrop death
41 year old Sandra Jaye Wilde has been sentenced to two years and four months in jail after pleading guilty to the charge of dangerous driving causing the death of Australian triathlete Luke Harrop. According the The Age newspaper, Wilde also pleaded guilty of "negligent driving causing bodily harm and unlawful use of a motor vehicle."

She will also serve a three year sentence for separate charges involving receiving stolen goods, stealing, burglary and a breach of suspended sentence.

24 year old Harrop was killed by a car driven by Wilde in January while training on the Gold Coast.



2 years and 4 months for killing someone and 3 years for stolen goods/stealing? So theft is worse than murder - what the f**k is the matter with the legal system?

actually she is elligable for parole after 18 months for killing him.  >:(.

 2 years and 4 months for killing someone and 3 years for stolen goods/stealing? So theft is worse than murder - what the f**k is the matter with the legal system?


No thats fair IMO, its not like she used a knife or a gun, give her a break man. She was drunk and didn't realise she hit him, thats why they called it a hit-and-run. Its not like she meant to do what she did, but yeah stealing is bad.

No thats fair IMO, its not like she used a knife or a gun, give her a break man. She was drunk and didn't realise she hit him, thats why they called it a hit-and-run. Its not like she meant to do what she did, but yeah stealing is bad.

I use a 'consequential loss' system when judging cases (not that I'm a lawyer or anything). Theft results in a mild case of loss and a bit of paperwork for an insurance payout. Killing someone results in a family unit being destroyed as well as a shock to his social circle. She was drunk - quite correct - she made a concious decision  to drink (and knew the consequent dangers of driving drunk) and should be repsonsible for her actions.

I use a 'consequential loss' system when judging cases (not that I'm a lawyer or anything). Theft results in a mild case of loss and a bit of paperwork for an insurance payout. Killing someone results in a family unit being destroyed as well as a shock to his social circle. She was drunk - quite correct - she made a concious decision  to drink (and knew the consequent dangers of driving drunk) and should be repsonsible for her actions.


If it was upto me I would have locked the bitch up for 30 years.

The Queensland Attorney General is looking at the case in terms of the sentence handed out.  Appeal or no appeal?  That's the question.   8) 8)

This all makes me wonder why anyone would ever bother using a gun or a knife to kill someone else.  I mean, if you use a gun or a knife you're generally looking at ten years.  Hey, if you use a stolen car, you get two years.  Heck, if you use your own car, you might even avoid jail completely!

I bet Martin Bryant is sitting in a prison somewhere thinking "If only..."

<br />The Queensland Attorney General is looking at the case in terms of the sentence handed out.  Appeal or no appeal?  That's the question. <br /><br />It was appealed, and the sentence has been doubled to a five-year jail term with parole eligibility after three years.<br /><br />Full story here (http://au.news.yahoo.com/021119/2/hieo.html).<br /><br /><br />[/siz]

<br />[quote author=redhendren link=board=8;threadid=571;start=15#6170 date=1029414549]<br />The Queensland Attorney General is looking at the case in terms of the sentence handed out.  Appeal or no appeal?  That's the question. <br /><br />It was appealed, and the sentence has been doubled to a five-year jail term with parole eligibility after three years.<br /><br />Full story here (http://au.news.yahoo.com/021119/2/hieo.html).<br /><br />It's an improvement but it's still not enough. If the murder had been committed with any other weapon...<br /><br />I also notice the Queensland Attorney-General has failed to reopen the case of another cyclist (albeit one with a lower profile than Luke Harrop) who was killed on the Gold Coast by a drugged out driver at around the same time.<br /><br >