CALLS FOR URGENT HIGHWAY UPGRADES AFTER FATAL CRASH THAT SHOCKED PILBARA LOCALS
Ranz Hinaki comforts his daughter in the hospital
BY ASAD KHAN
Tangiora Hinaki was on the phone with her daughter when the call suddenly dropped out.
“I didn’t feel concerned till I saw four missed calls,” she recalled.
“Then I rang my baby girl back and she was frantic—‘Mum, get here now. We rolled. It’s bad.’”
By the time Ms Hinaki arrived at the crash site just outside Roebourne on Friday May 23, she found debris scattered across the road and her family in distress.
Both drivers were in a critical condition. Ms Hinaki was initially told that her niece and a family friend, who were trapped in the vehicle, both had a pulse. Tragically, after about 30 minutes at the scene, she was informed that her niece had passed away.
Her 29-year-old niece had been behind the wheel of a white Toyota Prado when it collided with a white Hilux, driven by a 21-year-old man, around 3:25 pm. Both drivers died at the scene.
Four passengers in the Prado — a 13-year-old girl and three women aged 19, 24 and 25 — were also injured. Two remain in critical condition.
Ms Hinaki said she wasn’t allowed to go to her niece, who had died in the crash, but stayed to comfort the others.
“I kept saying, I’m here. I’m praying for them. I believe they will recover.”
Scene of the fatal crash
She’s now calling for urgent changes to the North West Coastal Highway, a stretch of road she says has seen too many fatalities.
“We’re not even halfway through 2025 and already, to my knowledge, we’ve lost four people with ties to our community on that road,” she said.
A man in his 50s was killed on the same stretch of road in September last year.
Ms Hinaki wants to see physical safety measures such as median barriers and more overtaking lanes—similar to those used on busy highways in Perth or other major cities.
“This is our main road. Everyone in Karratha, Wickham, Point Samson and we all use it daily,” she said.
“There are crosses all along that highway. Too many families have suffered.”
Aerial view of Roebourne.
She said the mining giants like Rio Tinto and BHP, who use the same route daily, should also contribute to safety upgrades or consider alternate freight roads.
“We live in the financial hub of the Pilbara, don’t tell me we don’t have the money to make this road safer.”
WA Police’s Major Crash Investigation Section is appealing for dashcam or mobile footage of the crash.
Anyone affected by road trauma can contact Road Trauma Support WA on 1300 004 814.
Listen to Ngaarda Media’s Asad Khan speak with Tangiora Hinaki: