A dad-of-six who tragically died in an early morning car crash two days before Father’s Day had been travelling to comfort his wife after she lost her father.
Scott Cassidy, 50, was driving on his own from his hometown of Townsville to Rockhampton around 6am on Friday when he hit a thick bank of fog and his ute came off a bend on a notorious stretch of the Bruce Highway at Canoona.
The grandfather-of-11 was killed in the crash alongside one of three puppies that were in the car with him.
Mr Cassidy, who ran a Queensland concreting business with his son Jason, had been travelling to comfort his wife, who had just lost her father three days before.
His grieving children now face the double heartbreak of burying their much-loved ‘pop’ and their father in the same week.
Mr Cassidy’s eldest daughter Angela said the family were ‘completely numb’.
‘The glue that holds everything together is now gone, and we’ve just got to pick up the pieces. It still doesn’t feel real,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Ms Cassidy, 33, said her father was a much-loved former junior coach at the Norths Devils footy club in Thuringowa and was always the life and soul of every party.
Scott Cassidy (pictured), 50, was driving on his own from Townsville to Rockhampton around 6am on Friday when he hit a thick bank of fog and his ute came off a bend on a notorious stretch of the Bruce Highway at Canoona
The grandfather-of-11 was killed in the crash alongside, one of the three puppies who were in the car with him (Pictured: Mr Cassidy with his son Preston)
Mr Cassidy had celebrated his 50th birthday the day after his son, Justin’s, wedding day in June this year.
‘He was a big character, he always had to be the loudest person in the room,’ his daughter said.
‘He adored his wife, Renee, loved us kids and was so proud of all of his grandkids. He would do absolutely anything for us – and he did.’
Ms Cassidy, 33, said she last spoke to her father on Wednesday when they gathered after the death of their grandfather.
The family launched a GoFundMe because Mr Cassidy’s concreting business provided their sole income.
‘Unfortunately bills keep rolling in despite the circumstances, these funds will help ease the financial burden during this hard time,’ the GoFundMe page states.
It has so far raised almost $11,000.
Mr Cassidy leaves behind his wife, Renee (the pair are pictured together), their six children aged between 16 – 33, and their 11 grandchildren
Mr Cassidy (pictured) was remembered as the ‘glue that holds everything together’
A Queensland Police spokeswoman said the Forensic Crash Unit was investigating the accident.
‘Initial investigations indicate at approximately 6.20am, a utility was travelling along the Bruce Highway (Kunwarara Road) between Atkinson Road and Old Canoona Road when it left the road and crashed,’ she said.
‘The driver, a 50-year-old Mount Low man, was declared deceased at the scene.’
Witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage are urged to contact police.
