00:01Good morning, Catherine.
00:03I can tell you that 36-year-old man has been charged by police this morning.
00:07Now, it's alleged he stole a ute from Palm Cove,
00:11which is about half an hour north of Cairns,
00:13just after one o'clock yesterday afternoon.
00:15He's then alleged to have driven on the Smithfield Bypass,
00:18which is the main highway towards the Cairns CBD.
00:22Within 15 minutes, he's alleged to have collided
00:24with multiple other cars, killing a 25-year-old woman at the scene,
00:29injuring multiple others.
00:30They required treatment at hospital.
00:33But police say that the man, the 36-year-old man,
00:35was able to get out of the car that he's alleged to have stolen.
00:38He then made another man, allegedly a 71-year-old man,
00:42drive him to Reservoir Road, the suburb of Manura,
00:45which is about 20 minutes' drive away.
00:47It's there that he was arrested by police
00:50and taken to Cairns Hospital,
00:52where he has spent the night under police guard.
00:55Chris, how is the community reacting to this young woman's death?
01:01Well, there's been widespread devastation about this loss of life,
01:04and the chief superintendent at Cairns Police, Kevin Fitzgibbon,
01:08spoke to this yesterday.
01:09He said that he himself has children
01:11around the same age as this young woman
01:13and just said that he shares the community's outrage
01:16and understands that this is not acceptable.
01:19Car thefts have been an issue in Cairns for some years,
01:22but the death of a young woman just going about her day, he says,
01:26really is people's worst fear.
01:29And Chris, what is expected to happen today?
01:34Well, the 36-year-old man's matter is listed here
01:37at the Cairns Magistrates' Court later today.
01:39He does still remain in hospital this morning,
01:41so it's not clear whether he will appear personally
01:44or be represented by a lawyer,
01:46but he's been charged with five offences,
01:49including manslaughter, dangerous driving
01:51while affected by an intoxicating substance,
01:54and failing to stop and render assistance
01:57to an injured person showing callous disregard.
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