A teenager who survived one of Tasmania’s most devastating school tragedies has died in a New Year’s Eve e-bike crash, reopening wounds for a community still grieving unimaginable loss.
Fifteen-year-old Lucas Reid was killed when his e-bike struck a pole on the outskirts of Devonport in the state’s northwest about 7.30pm on December 31.
Tasmania Police said early indications suggest the bike collided with a telephone pole on Dons Head Road, a rural stretch near the coastal town. Despite desperate efforts by a nearby resident to help, Lucas died at the scene. The circumstances of the crash remain under investigation.
Tributes have flowed for the teenager, who had become a symbol of resilience after surviving the Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle disaster in 2021.
Lucas was among the children injured when a Taz-Zorb inflatable was lifted around 10 metres into the air by a powerful gust of wind during an end-of-year celebration at Hillcrest Primary School on December 16, 2021. The incident, later described in court as a “mini tornado”, claimed the lives of six children: Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt.
Lucas spent weeks in hospital following the tragedy and required a wheelchair during his long and difficult recovery. His survival, and the determination he showed in rebuilding his life, had been a source of hope and inspiration for his family and the wider community.
News of his death has brought renewed heartbreak to those still coming to terms with the Hillcrest tragedy, a disaster that forever changed Tasmania.
As police continue to investigate the crash, friends, family and community members have remembered Lucas as a strong yet gentle young man whose life had already been marked by extraordinary hardship.
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