THE parents of 23-year-old Blue Mountains woman Sarah Frazer, who was killed along with Mittagong tow truck operator Geoff Clark on the Hume Highway in February, have continued their call for road reforms in NSW on the day the truck driver involved in the incident appeared in court.
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Kaine Daniel Barnett, of Marulan, faced two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and negligent driving occasioning death when he appeared in Moss Vale Local Court yesterday.
The Department of Public Prosecutions requested the matter be adjourned "because of the size of the brief". The 24-year-old will face court again on June 26. Mr Clark and Ms Frazer died when they were hit by the passing truck on the Hume Highway near Mittagong on February 15, after Mr Clark stopped to help Ms Frazer, whose car had broken down.
Peter and Judy Frazer, Sarah's parents, spoke outside court about honouring the memory of their daughter and Mr Clark and campaigning for safer roads in NSW.
Mr Frazer said yesterday was the beginning of a long process of finding out what happened on the day of the incident, so future tragedies could be avoided.
"It's a very, very difficult time for the Clark and the Frazer families," he said.
"She (Sarah) was a beautiful, vibrant young woman who died in a very tragic circumstance."
Mr Frazer said he would deliver a petition containing more than 20,000 signatures, obtained in less than eight weeks, to acting premier Andrew Stoner at NSW Parliament House next Tuesday.
The petition advocates that all major roads, highways and freeways have breakdown lanes or road shoulders that do not leave any lives at risk. It also aims to ensure drivers have to slow down and move over when passing any first-response and emergency service personnel displaying hazard or emergency lights.
"We can see that this is something which has touched everyone's heart and we want to make a difference for all Australians," Mr Frazer said.
From Mother's Day, a week-long awareness campaign will begin, with motorists encouraged to tie a yellow ribbon on the aerial or bumper bar of their vehicles to promote road safety.
Mr Frazer said the circumstances had left all families involved "broken hearted".
"It's affected all the families including Kaine's family," he said.
"I have a 24-year-old as well. All I can feel is sadness."
