With its picturesque beaches and relaxed lifestyle, Bali has long been a popular tourist destination for Australians.
But some never make it home from their dream holiday, with rented scooters posing a serious threat to the lives of many inexperienced riders.
Since April 2016, four Australians have been killed in scooter crashes on Bali roads.
Lochie Connaughton, 16, Adrian Newton, 42, Ella Knights, 26 and Sophia Martini, 27, all died in horrific circumstances while riding scooters around the island.
Pictured: Sophia Martini, the fourth Australian to have lost her life on a Bali Scooter since 2016
On Monday, 27-year-old Sophia Martini was flung from the back of her boyfriend’s bike as they rode through Kuta.
The woman, from Magnetic Island in Queensland, was rushed to hospital, had sustained horrific head injuries – despite wearing a helmet.
Combined with heavy blood loss, she did not recover and died soon after in hospital.
She and her boyfriend, Steele Nugent, had been returning from a friends wedding when she lost her life.
It’s believed Mr Nugent is prohibited from leaving the Indonesian island until investigations into the incident are complete.
Ms Martini was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, but still suffered serious head injuries
She was flung off the back of a scooter being driven by her boyfriend. Pictured is the damage done to the scooter in the crash
Ella Knights, 26, had been travelling with friends in April this year when she was found dead in a gutter following a horrific scooter accident.
Less than a week before she was due to arrive back in Sydney, a passer-by found her body in a gutter in Canggu, North Kuta.
She was less than two metres from her scooter, and the bike’s engine was still running.
Chillingly, Ms Knights posted a video of herself riding on the back of a scooter in Bali just days before her fatal accident.
‘Sorry Mum, #nohelmet,’ Ms Knights had captioned the image.
Ella Knights was not wearing a helmet when she was flung off her scooter in Kuta earlier this year
She was found in a gutter no more than two metres from her bike, with the engine still running
Adrian Newton, a firefighter from Melbourne, was holidaying with colleagues when an accident with a garbage truck ended his life.
Mr Newton was riding a scooter to Sanur from Kuta in May last year when he struck the truck from behind as it was attempting to do a U-turn.
He suffered open wounds to his cheek, chin and forehead, and died at the scene.
The head of forensics at Sanglah Hospital, Ida Bagus Putu Alit, said the 42-year-old Australian had also suffered a fracture to his jaw, a broken wrist and bruising to his abdomen in the crash.
Firefighter Adrian Newton was holidaying with colleagues in Bali when he rear-ended a garbage truck while on his rented scooter and died at the scene
Lochie Connaughton was on holiday with his family in Kuta in April 2016 when he ‘lost control’ of his scooter.
He drove into a concrete separator while driving out of the basement of the Marriot’s Stone Hotel.
The boy, from Orange in NSW’s Central West, was found lying face up with his nose bleeding.
Though he was conscious straight after the crash, he died soon after in hospital.
Lochie Connaughton, 16, had been holidaying with family when he is believed to have lost control of his scooter
It is understood Lochie had been wearing a helmet and was not under the influence of alcohol when he crashed.
Travel advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs notes: ‘A number of foreigners, including Australians, have been killed or seriously injured in motorcycle accidents in tourist areas, particularly in Bali’.
They advise Australian travellers to ‘wear helmets, preferably full-face helmets, and other protective clothing when riding motorcycles, scooters and mopeds overseas in order to minimise the risk of serious injury’.
The teenager was rushed to hospital, but died from his injuries soon after the crash