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A teenager killed in a horror late-night quad bike rollover is being remembered as a great friend always ready to help others.
Emergency services were called to a property at Darling Heights, south of Toowoomba, southeast Queensland around 1.30am on Sunday following reports an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) had overturned .
Gage Fowler, 16, was seriously injured and died at the scene, despite frantic efforts to resuscitate him.
Gage’s death brought immense sadness to his heartbroken friends.
Tributes pour in for Gage Fowler, who died in ATV rollover early Sunday morning
“Until we meet again, my brother, a gift to us all,” one wrote.
Another friend wrote: “I will always think of you, brother. Rest easy,’
Others paid tribute to Gage during a online fundraising set up for his grieving family, who quickly exceeded $5,500 in donations in just a few hours, more than half of the $10,000 goal set.
“Such a genuine young friend and companion. He would give his shirt off to help anyone. So close to so many people and he wears his heart on his sleeve,” the page said.
The page has since been flooded with tributes and photos of Gage.
“Gage is a dear friend of mine. He is a talented volleyball player who was sometimes a pain to coach, but he always listened,” a friend wrote.
Another added: “Gage was my best friend for years, I will miss his goofy laugh and random visits to my house.”
The forensic accident unit is investigating the incident and will prepare a report for the coroner.
It is the second quad bike tragedy in the Darling Downs area in three months.
A 44-year-old man died when his quad bike overturned in nearby Kingsthorpe in December.
A woman was also injured when a quad bike overturned on Moreton Island on Sunday.
Gage Fowler (photo) was remembered by his friends as a talented volleyball player.
More than 180 lives were lost in quad bike-related incidents in Australia over an eight-year period between January 2011 and March 2023.
Quad bike safety is an area of focus for the ACCC, which pushed for tougher standards in 2018 as record levels of off-road vehicle-related fatalities peaked in Australia.
New safety rules were introduced in 2019 in a bid to reduce quad bike-related injuries and deaths.
In 2022, more than 90% of all new quad bikes sold in Australia were found to meet the national safety standard.
This was the second fatal ATV rollover in the area in a month (stock image of an ATV)