Business owner wishes quick recovery of those injured
Smithfield bypass crash
Owner of Exemplar Coaches, Gordon Wellham, expressed his sincere sympathy to everyone involved in the Smithfield bypass crash.
The crash occurred yesterday morning around 11am and involved an Exemplar minivan and two vehicles.
Mr Wellham said they are a tight-knit company and everyone is currently still in shock. He expressed his heartfelt wishes for a quick recovery of those injured.
“At the moment we are concentrating on looking after everyone; the passengers, our bus driver and our staff.”
Doing everything they can
Following the accident, eleven patients were transported to Cairns Hospital, including four patients in a serious condition and seven in stable conditions
“We have been constantly staying in close contact with all the affected passengers,” Mr Wellham said. “One passenger is still in Cairns hospital, he is in stable condition and will be discharged in a day or two.
“My wife Cheryl went straight to Cairns Hospital after the accident to offer support and we are organising accommodation in Cairns for the passengers involved in the accident who can’t come up to Port Douglas.
“We just brought one lady up to Port Douglas who was discharged from the hospital this morning. We are also making sure all their luggage is being taken care of.
“We are looking after everyone in every possible way."
Bus driver
“Our driver is also in good hands in the hospital and is in stable condition. He has injuries on one lower leg and has had surgery.
“He has been working for us for 12 months, he has a lot of experience and everyone in the team loves him.
“We’ve been around for 29 years and we have a good safety record. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Officers from the Cairns Forensic Crash Unit (FCU) are still investigating the cause of the crash.