A 40-year-old Gold Coast man has been charged over the death of a motorcyclist who was struck by at another vehicle after taking evasive action to avoid a stray stepladder that had fallen from a ute.
Police have issued a Notice to Appear to the alleged driver of the ute five months after the tragic incident on the Pacific Motorway on the morning of Melbourne Cup eve.
The Burleigh Heads man has been charged with one count of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.
It is alleged the 53-year-old motorcyclist was killed after trying to evade a stepladder that fell from a ute.
Craig Ward sustained fatal injuries after being struck by another vehicle in the northbound lanes near exit 71, police say.
“On November 2, a 53-year-old motorcyclist was killed after taking evasive action to avoid a ladder which fell from a nearby Mitsubishi utility,” police alleged in a statement on Thursday.
“As a result, the motorcyclist was struck by a vehicle and sustained fatal injuries.”
Immediately after his death, God’s Squad CMC Toowoomba Chapter posted a tribute to the 53-year-old Merrimac man on Facebook, writing “the circumstances of this are tragic”.
“RIP Craig ‘Wardie’ Ward, former member Gold Coast Chapter,” the group wrote.
“He lost his life during the heavily reported incident with a ladder on the M1 motorway yesterday.”
According to Mr Ward’s profile, he studied panel beating and spray painting at a Sydney TAFE and was working as a factory hand in Coomera.
On the day of his death, Senior Sergeant Chris Tritton said police were investigating the “complicated” accident, which involved three utes, an SUV and Mr Ward’s motorbike.
“We are investigating an (allegedly) unsecured load that was a small stepladder that has caused a vehicle to take evasive action that led to the accident,” he said.
The Burleigh Heads man is due to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on May 5.
