William Turner: Family mourns 17-yr-old equestrian who died in crash days after graduating high school
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA: A multi-vehicle crash resulted in the horrific death of Queensland teenager and horseman William Turner, days after he graduated high school. Turner's 4WD Ute crashed into two other cars on the Cunningham highway near Warwick, resulting in Turner being veered off into the other side of the road in rural Queensland. Friends and family of the deceased are reeling from the tragic news as tributes pour in.
The accident happened on Sunday, November 20. A friend of the deceased’s family has created a GoFundMe page to help them mobilize funds for Turner’s funeral. Leeanne Eastwell, mother of Turner’s friends, who set up the fundraiser, described the teen as a "fifth son".
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Turner was a well-known face in the campdrafting community and has competed in the sport across the Queensland region. Campdrafting is an equestrian event where the rider takes the bullock away from a group and rides it around a set course.
Turner's death comes only days after his graduation from Scots PGC College in Warwick. Turner was the only occupant of his car, while five others from the other two vehicles sustained injuries. A farm worker who assisted Emergency Medical Services at the scene called the incident a mess and said, “One car was upside down in the middle of the road, another was on its side on the side of the road and there was a Ute in the middle.”
According to a report by Daily Mail, Eastwell’s youngest son Lane and Turner were close friends. Lane has even got a tattoo on his forearm that says, ‘William Peter Turner. 16-04-05 20-11-02, ’90 or nothin.” ’90 or nothin’ is apparently a common saying in Turner’s equestrian world and means you leave it all on the line, regardless of the result.
Eastwell spoke to the media, saying, “I would take them into football at Toowoomba a few times a week, and he ended up being the fifth boy I never had…He was such a good kid, he was [definitely] going places, he was a larrikin that everyone loved, the life of the party.”