Palmview Tragedy: One Dead, One Injured After Wild Crash, Shooting, and Carjackings on the Bruce Highway
Palmview, Sunshine Coast – April 20, 2025
A horrifying sequence of events unfolded on Queensland’s Bruce Highway this afternoon, leaving one woman dead, a man seriously injured, and another man in police custody following a high-speed crash, carjacking, and shooting that has rocked the Sunshine Coast community.
At approximately 12:10 p.m., emergency services were called to the southbound lanes of the Bruce Highway near Palmview after reports of a serious multi-vehicle crash. Early investigations by Queensland Police indicate the incident began when a red Porsche Macan, driven by a 41-year-old man from Tewantin, crashed and triggered a chain reaction involving several vehicles.
Following the initial impact, the situation rapidly escalated into chaos. The driver of the Porsche—who has since been confirmed as the registered owner of the vehicle—allegedly exited the car armed with a firearm. In a terrifying turn, he approached a white SsangYong Rexton, shot the male driver in the arm, and stole the vehicle, fleeing the scene at high speed. Authorities have stated that there was no known connection between the suspect and the shooting victim.
Approximately 25 minutes later, the stolen Rexton was found crashed in Landsborough, near Forestry Road, creating a second major crime scene. The chaos didn’t stop there—police say the man then carjacked a second vehicle, a grey Mazda 3, in an attempt to escape further.
However, police quickly tracked the suspect down and arrested him near Steve Irwin Way. The firearm used in the earlier shooting was recovered from inside the vehicle. The man was reportedly injured during the earlier crashes and is currently under police guard in hospital.
Tragically, amid the mayhem, two other individuals—a man and a woman—were caught in the initial multi-vehicle crash caused by the Porsche. Despite the efforts of first responders, the woman succumbed to her injuries a short time later. The man was transported to a nearby hospital and is currently in serious condition. Their identities have not yet been publicly released.
In total, three separate crime scenes have been established—one at the crash site in Palmview and two in Landsborough—as major investigations are underway involving Queensland Police and forensic teams.
The sheer violence and unpredictability of the events have left the Sunshine Coast community in shock. Locals who witnessed parts of the incident described scenes of “absolute terror,” with families and children nearby as the situation rapidly spiraled.
Police are urging anyone who may have witnessed the crashes, carjackings, or has dashcam footage from the area between noon and 12:45 p.m. to come forward. Information can be reported anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1800 333 000 or online via the Queensland Police Service website.
As investigations continue into the motive behind the violent rampage, authorities are working to piece together how a seemingly ordinary afternoon commute turned into a deadly and traumatic ordeal for so many.
The Sunshine Coast community now mourns the loss of a woman whose life was cut short in the most senseless of circumstances, while others recover physically and emotionally from a day that began like any other—but ended in tragedy.