Riverina Redneck Rally director Gavin Gilbert has hit back at "misinformation" surrounding a car crash that killed one passenger and seriously injured the driver.
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"There's a lot of misinformation going around, mainly speculation on how the driving was," Mr Gilbert said.
"It was a freak accident - it wasn't really a bad stretch of road."
Mr Gilbert denied claims that underlying safety problems were responsible for the crash, saying they would continue to hold the same rallies into the future.
"We did everything we possibly could do for safety measures," Mr Gilbert said.
"Sad to say you can't avoid a freak accident; there's nothing you can do about it."
The accident allegedly happened while the car was exiting a bend, whereupon it slid off of the road and rolled several times before hitting a tree.
The rally was due to finish in Nelsons Bay, however the remainder of the event was cancelled out of respect to the man killed.
Rally members spent two days at Tamworth Hospital accompanying their driver friend, who suffered several serious but non-fatal bone fractures.
Mr Gilbert said the accident had dealt a blow to the rally members, who had become close mates over the course of several rallies.
"Everyone's close. We only spend five days together, but these people in the rally all talk to each other all year round. This impacted them fairly hard," Mr Gilbert said.
The passenger died while raising money for Country Hope, which helps children fighting cancer and life-threatening illnesses.
So far this year the rally has raised $457,000, bringing their grand tally to just over $1.1 million.
Mr Gilbert declined to name the two people involved in the crash out of respect to their families, some of whom live outside of Australia and are still being contacted.
However, Mr Gilbert said that in the coming days they would be willing to identify the people involved.
Crash investigators are looking into the cause of the accident and will be filing a coroner's report in the coming months.
Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
