- Carl Wilkinson, 37, dies in car accident
- He leaves behind his wife and three children.
- A fundraiser has been launched to support his loved ones.
An off-duty police officer has died in a car crash on the New South Wales south coast, leaving his heartbroken family paying tribute to their “superhero”.
Carl Wilkinson, 37, was driving alone on the Princes Highway in East Lynne about 1.30pm on Thursday when his vehicle collided with a truck.
Wilkinson died at the scene while the 57-year-old truck driver, who was not injured, was taken to Batemans Bay Hospital for mandatory tests.
Mr Wilkinson served the community as a senior constable with the New South Wales Police.
He is survived by his partner Madeleine Cox and three children. A heartbroken Mrs Cox has posted on social media about her loss.
“I lost my partner, the love of my life that I was lucky enough to know and the father of our three beautiful babies,” she wrote.
The family had just moved to Batemans Bay the week before the accident.
Mrs Cox asked for help to knock down Mr Wilkinson’s guitar, which he had recently donated to a local church without her knowledge.
Wilkinson served the community as a senior constable with the New South Wales Police.
A heartbroken Mrs Cox has posted on social media about her loss.
‘I’m reaching out to see if anyone in the community knows who may have bought his guitar so I could buy it back from them.
“I’m not good at playing, but he loved it when I played just for him (I still have my guitar), he thought my voice was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard; I disagree.”
“But please, I’d love to find this so I can play Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here for you one more time.” I’ll pay anything for it.’
A response to the post said the guitar had since been found.
Cox described his partner as “my love, my partner, my angel, our superhero.”
a page in mycause crowdfunding platform has been created to support the family, with $21,400 raised so far.
A page has been created on the mycause crowdfunding platform to support the family, and $21,400 has been raised so far.
“It is with great devastation for Maddie and her three wonderful children to unexpectedly lose Carl, a beautiful companion and father,” wrote the page’s creator, Jo Thompson.
“Please help and donate to this beautiful family who needs it most at this devastating time.”
Investigations into the car accident are ongoing. Anyone with information or dash cam footage is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.