Post by admin on Jul 28, 2011 20:18:31 GMT 10
They lost their parents to raging floodwaters in January. Now, three siblings in Queensland are preparing to bury their brother.
The Matthews family has again been plunged into grief after Sam, 20, was killed in an explosion on a Murphys Creek property on Wednesday night.
His body was found when firefighters extinguished a blaze in a shipping container and two cars that ignited surrounding grassland.
"It's one blow after another. A blow to the lot of us," Jake Matthews, the young man’s grandfather, told Nine News.
"He was a beautiful boy. Sam was really good."
It's believed Mr Matthews had been working on his late father's Jaguar, the same car he salvaged from the flood waters six months ago, when the fire broke out.
He managed to dial emergency services, but help did not arrive in time.
Investigators have speculated he may have been trying to save the car for a second time.
In January, when the floods swept through the Lockyer Valley, Mr Matthews was with his father Steve, mother Sandy and sister Victoria in the kitchen of their family home at Spring Bluff.
He helped his sister to safety but when he returned to get his parents, they and the kitchen were gone.
Siblings Sarah, Victoria and Dan — still grieving the loss of their parents — today released a statement pleading for privacy.
"This year we have suffered so much tragedy in such a short period of time and our grief for our family is extremely overwhelming," the statement read.
"We are aware of the intense media interest in Sam's tragic accident but at this stage our focus is on our family and young children and therefore we will not be participating in any media interviews."
The media was asked to keep its distance from the family's home, and to stop broadcasting footage of the accident scene, particularly out of respect to Victoria, who is aged only 16.
The family issued their statement through Hannah's Foundation, a Laidley-based drowning prevention charity.
Chief executive Andrew Plint paid tribute to Mr Matthews, saying he had "displayed courage, bravery and initiative in the face of so much tragedy".
"Yesterday's tragic accident has provided further devastation to the family, the community and the Lockyer region who have survived so much this year," he said.
The charity had been working with Mr Matthews since March to organise a house for a block of land he had purchased at Murphys Creek.
Lockyer Valley mayor Steve Jones said the family could expect unconditional support from the 1000-strong local community.
"The community has rallied behind everyone in tragic circumstances as we saw in January and I'm absolutely certain that's what will happen again," he told AAP.
"At the moment, it must be hard for people to be positive, but I know they will be because they've been before in tragedy."
Premier Anna Bligh said the death was yet another blow to a family who had suffered enough.
"For his family and his surviving siblings this is going to be a very difficult and sad time for them," she said.
The Matthews family has again been plunged into grief after Sam, 20, was killed in an explosion on a Murphys Creek property on Wednesday night.
His body was found when firefighters extinguished a blaze in a shipping container and two cars that ignited surrounding grassland.
"It's one blow after another. A blow to the lot of us," Jake Matthews, the young man’s grandfather, told Nine News.
"He was a beautiful boy. Sam was really good."
It's believed Mr Matthews had been working on his late father's Jaguar, the same car he salvaged from the flood waters six months ago, when the fire broke out.
He managed to dial emergency services, but help did not arrive in time.
Investigators have speculated he may have been trying to save the car for a second time.
In January, when the floods swept through the Lockyer Valley, Mr Matthews was with his father Steve, mother Sandy and sister Victoria in the kitchen of their family home at Spring Bluff.
He helped his sister to safety but when he returned to get his parents, they and the kitchen were gone.
Siblings Sarah, Victoria and Dan — still grieving the loss of their parents — today released a statement pleading for privacy.
"This year we have suffered so much tragedy in such a short period of time and our grief for our family is extremely overwhelming," the statement read.
"We are aware of the intense media interest in Sam's tragic accident but at this stage our focus is on our family and young children and therefore we will not be participating in any media interviews."
The media was asked to keep its distance from the family's home, and to stop broadcasting footage of the accident scene, particularly out of respect to Victoria, who is aged only 16.
The family issued their statement through Hannah's Foundation, a Laidley-based drowning prevention charity.
Chief executive Andrew Plint paid tribute to Mr Matthews, saying he had "displayed courage, bravery and initiative in the face of so much tragedy".
"Yesterday's tragic accident has provided further devastation to the family, the community and the Lockyer region who have survived so much this year," he said.
The charity had been working with Mr Matthews since March to organise a house for a block of land he had purchased at Murphys Creek.
Lockyer Valley mayor Steve Jones said the family could expect unconditional support from the 1000-strong local community.
"The community has rallied behind everyone in tragic circumstances as we saw in January and I'm absolutely certain that's what will happen again," he told AAP.
"At the moment, it must be hard for people to be positive, but I know they will be because they've been before in tragedy."
Premier Anna Bligh said the death was yet another blow to a family who had suffered enough.
"For his family and his surviving siblings this is going to be a very difficult and sad time for them," she said.