A heartbroken community have farewelled a young Brisbane couple in a moving vigil just a day after they were killed by an allegedly out-of-control teenage driver who was reportedly on bail for driving offences at the time.
Kate Leadbetter, 31, and her boyfriend Matthew Field, 37, were about to become parents for the first time before a 17-year-old boy – allegedly driving a stolen Toyota 4WD – smashed into them in Alexandra Hills on the afternoon of Australia Day.
They’d been taking their dogs out for a walk at around 5.30pm on Tuesday when they were both struck by the vehicle.
Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the parents-to-be died at the scene.
The 17-year-old driver – who was allegedly on drugs and driving a stolen Toyota 4WD when he hit Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field – has since been charged with two counts of murder.
It’s believed the teen was on bail for other driving offences including evading police, the Courier Mail reported.
Locals banded together on Wednesday night to hold a vigil on the corner of Finucane and Vienna Road – the intersection where the couple tragically lost their lives.
Those attending have been told to bring a light ‘to shine for those three beautiful sounds lost to a senseless tragedy’.
Kate Leadbetter, 31, and her boyfriend Matthew Field, 37, were killed during a horror car crash in Alexandra Hills, in east Brisbane on Tuesday around 5.30pm
Loved ones console each other during a vigil for the young couple on Wednesday night
Two children comfort each other at the harrowing vigil on Wednesday night
Locals have since banded together to hold a vigil on the corner of Finucane and Vienna Road – the intersection where the couple tragically lost their lives
A mourner lays a bouquet of flowers down at the intersection where Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field were killed
The shattered aunt and uncle of Ms Leadbetter, Danielle and Jason Leadbetter (pictured at vigil), said they would always remember their ‘beautiful’ niece
The shattered aunt and uncle of Ms Leadbetter, Danielle and Jason Leadbetter, said they would always remember their ‘beautiful’ niece.
‘I remember Kate as my flower girl at my wedding she was just so joyful,’ Ms Leadbetter said.
‘It’s hard to believe that someone doing such a selfish act could take someone’s life.
‘She was just everything that is beautiful in this world so Queenslanders posting on social media, I’m reading it, you’re angry, let’s change the laws, take this anger and challenge it into something positive so it’s not your child that you are burying one day.’
Countless bouquets of flowers and teddy bears were laid at the scene while loved ones bravely spoke out about the loss of the couple.
Distraught residents found comfort in each other’s arms as crowds turned up to honour the young couple.
Candles were laid around the memorial which is only expected to grow as the vigil continues on into the night.
Relatives, locals, children and politicians all paid their respects to the couple on Wednesday evening as the community struggles to accept their deaths.
A little girl was captured in a heartbreaking photo laying a bouquet of flowers at the couple’s memorial while two other distraught children were seen sitting arm-in-arm.
Ms Leadbetter, who was six months pregnant, is understood to have been working as an interior stylist while her partner worked in fabrications.
The young couple had recently shared a photo of their baby’s ultrasound as they stood proudly in front of a Christmas tree.
Queensland Police are now investigating the possibility of laying more charges against the teenager over the death of Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field’s unborn baby.
Candles were laid around the memorial which is only expected to grow as the vigil continues on into the night
Flowers, teddy bears and letters were left at the intersection where a young couple were killed on Australia Day
Kate Leadbetter (right) was six months pregnant and excited to start a family with her long-term boyfriend Matty Field (left) when they were rundown and killed in Brisbane on Tuesday
Distraught mourners turned out in droves to the vigil on Wednesday night after the beloved couple were killed in a horror crash
A young family are seen at the vigil in Alexandra Hills on Wednesday night following the death of Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field
A young child is seen laying a bouquet of flowers at the vigil on Wednesday
The vigil started at 6pm at the intersection in Alexandra Hills as hundreds of locals paid their respects
Children are seen laying candles at the memorial for the couple in Brisbane’s east
Families lay flowers and candles at the vigil on Wednesday night. The couple were due to become parents in just three months before they were killed
‘That’s certainly something we’ll be considering as part of the ongoing investigation,’ Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Brian Cold said on Wednesday.
‘Here’s two people going about their business innocently on Australia Day, walking their dogs, they should be entitled to do that.
‘To have them ripped away from their families is an absolute tragedy, and I can assure you it’s impacted very heavily on the first responders and witnesses who faced that.’
The 17-year-old had allegedly been driving erratically through the intersection when he ploughed into a tow truck.
His car then began to roll and moments later collided with the couple walking their two dogs.
Ms Leadbetter, 31, and Mr Field, 37, died instantly, while their dog Frankie who they had been walking, fled from the scene
A woman wipes away tears during a vigil held for Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field at the intersection where they were killed
Huge crowds were seen at the vigil on Wednesday night on the corner of Finucane and Vienna Road
Harrowing scenes are pictured at the memorial held on Wednesday night following the tragic deaths of a young Brisbane couple
The 17-year-old from Waterford West was due to front Brisbane Children’s Court on Wednesday but chose not to appear.
At a hearing in his absence he was remanded in custody. The teen is understood to have been on bail for 50 unrelated offences when the crash occurred.
Outside court the teen’s lawyer Patrick Horgan said it had been a ‘very traumatic experience for everyone involved’.
As their families struggle to come to terms with the tragedy, the pregnant woman’s sister shared the heartbreaking photo showing Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field in happier times over Christmas.
Arm-in-arm and smiling, Mr Field held up the framed photo of the ultrasound, while in the background was a display that read: Santa baby.
‘Here’s two people going about their business innocently on Australia Day, walking their dogs, they should be entitled to do that,’ Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd said of the deaths of Mr Field and Ms Leadbetter
Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field’s dog Frankie is carried out of bushland on Wednesday morning at the end of a long search by locals, friends and family to find the dog
Frankie (pictured) survived the horrific crash but fled the scene in terror immediately after
Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field had been dating for more than four years and were expecting their first child
The couple’s beloved dog Frankie was missing on Tuesday night after it fled the scene but was fortunately found on Wednesday morning just before midday
Ms Leadbetter’s sister Kimberley shared the photo to Facebook on Wednesday in a bid to help the dozens of locals who spent the morning searching for missing pooch Frankie, the couple’s beloved pet.
The dog fled the scene in the aftermath of the crash leading some locals to search well into the night, before continuing on with their hunt on Wednesday morning.
But a large search party discovered Frankie alive and well in bushland about 11.30am AEST on Wednesday.
She was carried out of the dense bushland by the search party and will be taken to a local vet for a check up.
A GoFundMe page has now been set up to help cover the medical costs for Frankie.
The couple’s friend James Bellwood created the page and is hoping to raise $5,000 to help their pet.
‘She suffers from Addisons disease and needs medication for it. Any leftover money from the vets bills will go to the family in some way,’ Mr Bellwood said.
The teenage driver charged with murdering Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field had allegedly stolen the Toyota Land Cruiser just hours before he hit and killed the couple about 5.30pm on Australia Day.
In addition to two counts of murder, he has also been charged with burglary and a number of driving offences.
The couple were walking their dog when they were struck by an allegedly stolen Toyota LandCruiser, pictured at the scene on Tuesday night
The Toyota LandCruiser that the teenager was allegedly driving lies damaged at the scene of the horror crash around 5.30pm on Tuesday
A woman pays her respects at the intersection of Finucane Road and Vienna Drive at Alexandra Hills in Brisbane where Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field were killed on Tuesday afternoon
Police alleged the 17-year-old fled the scene before he was arrested nearby and taken to hospital for minor injuries.
Shocking footage has since surfaced of the teenager allegedly speeding through an intersection before smashing into another vehicle just 15 minutes before the fatal crash.
Nearby drivers screamed in horror as the Toyota sped through the intersection, attempting to cut off a silver hatchback before crashing into the vehicle’s side – only to then speed off into the distance.
The driver, who was wearing sunglasses, had been seen making crude gestures towards other motorists while stopped at the traffic lights before slamming into the hatchback.
Police allege the teenage boy was driving erratically through the intersection when his car smashed into a tow truck.
Police allege the Toyota then rolled across the road straight into the couple, who died at the scene.
It is understood Ms Leadbetter and Mr Field never saw the car coming.
Mr Field was killed instantly while desperate attempts from passersby were made to save his girlfriend’s life.
Shocked residents visited the scene of the fatal crash on Wednesday to lay flowers
The local community has been rocked by the crash. (Pictured are distressed locals expressing their grief over the tragedy on Wednesday morning)
This intersection in Alexandra Hills has reopened to traffic after the horrific crash, with police markings still able to be seen on the road
Witnesses shaken by the crash said a brave pair of men spent close to an hour trying to revive the pregnant woman even after ambulances arrived.
Police will allege the Land Cruiser 4WD was stolen from a house in Cleveland about an hour before the crash.
Shortly after the crash, the teen allegedly stole a set of keys from a nearby home in Kingston Avenue and attempted to start a car in the garage.
‘He fled on foot when approached by one of the residents of the house who followed him to Chelsea Crescent where he was arrested,’ a police spokesperson said.
Witness and local resident Mark Lovorec (pictured on Wednesday morning) has been left shocked and angry by the tragedy
The driver allegedly crashed into a silver hatchback just minutes before smashing into the truck in Alexandra Hills (pictured, the footage filmed by a horrified onlooker)
Several bouquets of flowers were laid at the crash scene on Wednesday morning, as a number of devastated residents paid their respects.
Local resident Mark Lovorec was on a late afternoon jog when he saw the tragedy unfold.
‘I saw the car speed down and two pedestrians were walking the dog and he just slammed straight into them,’ he told Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
‘A male body has flown over there and the female over the other side. Then the car hit another car and there was a big accident.
‘I looked at the people on the road and they were dead and I was in shock. I looked at them and they were gone.’
Mr Lovorec said the community has been left shocked and angry by the tragedy.
‘They are pretty angry, I’m angry. They are local residents, a pregnant woman and her partner,’ he said.
‘It was horrific and it should not have happened. I am sorry for the loss and everyone is very angry about it.’
A shattered resident pays his respects the morning after the horrible crash in his local area
Shattered residents visited the crash scene on Wednesday morning to pay their respects to the woman, 31 and man, 37, who died in Tuesday’s crash
Federal MP Andrew Laming (pictured) was among the shocked community members who placed flowers at the scene
Local MP Andrew Laming lays flowers at the intersection where a pregnant woman and her partner where killed
Mr Lovorec searched for the missing dog Frankie afterwards but couldn’t find her.
‘I went home to my house and told the people what I saw, I was in shock and I just sat down and sat there for a while, I didn’t know what to do,’ he said
Another resident Tony Christianson who lives two blocks away heard the crash.
‘We heard this terrific noise and we thought somebody had an accident,’ he told the Today Show.
His wife Irene added: ‘It could have been us. We walk here every day. Sometimes several times a day.’
Another witness who watched the horror unfold said he desperately tried to resuscitate the woman.
‘My wife and I were there at the time. They didn’t stand a chance as the car took them out, it’s unlikely they even saw the car that hit them,’ the man said.
Residents visited the scene on Wednesday to pay their respects to the couple killed
A woman lays sunflowers at the growing shrine at the crash scene in Alexandra Hills
The scene of the tragedy was visited by dozens of young families on Wednesday morning
A 17-year-old boy has been charged over a fatal crash in Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon. Pictured are police at the crash scene at a major intersection in Alexandra Hills
‘Sadly I was more than just a witness.’
Another woman said her husband, believed to be an emergency service worker, had also tried to revive the woman and was still in a ‘bad way’ after the harrowing ordeal.
‘My husband worked on the deceased woman for half an hour. Rest in peace,’ she said.
Queensland Ambulance Service said 10 crews arrived at the intersection after the crash.
Two other adults and a child were also assessed but did not need treatment.
Emergency services are seen at the scene at the intersection on Finucane Road and Vienna Drive in Alexandra Hills on Tuesday