A 19-year-old Indian national living in Perth has died after she was struck by a car and trapped underneath the vehicle in a shopping centre car park in the city’s south-east.
Komalpreet Kaur was hit by a blue Hyundai i30 hatchback at the Bentley Plaza car park on Albany Highway, near John Street, about 11.30 pm on Saturday, according to Western Australia Police.
Police said the young woman sustained critical injuries and was taken by ambulance to Royal Perth Hospital, where she later died.
The 19-year-old driver of the Hyundai, who police said is assisting with inquiries, has not been charged at this stage. Major Crash Investigation Squad officers are examining the circumstances of the incident and have appealed for witnesses, dashcam footage or mobile phone vision.
The tragedy has shaken Perth’s Indian community, with friends launching a fundraiser to help return Ms Kaur’s body to India so her family can perform her final rites.
A GoFundMe page set up in her memory described Ms Kaur as “full of life, kindness, and dreams for the future”, saying her sudden death had left her family and friends devastated.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking loss of Komalpreet Kaur, a beautiful 19-year-old young woman who tragically passed away in a car accident in Perth, Australia,” the fundraising page said.
The page said donations would help cover funeral expenses, memorial arrangements and the cost of repatriating her body to India “so that she can be laid to rest in her homeland, surrounded by her loved ones”.
More than $80,000 has reportedly been raised to support the family.
Witnesses described a desperate effort by bystanders to lift the vehicle after Ms Kaur became trapped underneath.
Nathan Burge told 9News Perth that people rushed from nearby after hearing a loud bang.
“I just started to yell out, ‘Any man, any man’, I’m pointing at people, getting them over, ‘Any male, any male’, I wanted to flip that car over,” he said.
“We ended up with a good 10 to 12 people on it … we got [the car] up and someone pulled her out.”
A woman then reportedly began CPR before Ms Kaur was taken to hospital, where she died a short time later.
Witnesses said the driver knew the young woman and was pleading with people to call an ambulance.
WA Police confirmed Major Crash investigators are continuing their examination of the scene and have urged anyone who saw the crash to contact Crime Stoppers. Investigators have also set up an online evidence portal for dashcam or mobile phone vision related to the incident.
The fatal crash has renewed grief within Australia’s Indian student and migrant communities, where families are often separated across continents and sudden deaths can leave relatives facing enormous emotional and financial strain.
Ms Kaur’s friends said the priority was to support her family through the “unimaginable tragedy” and ensure she could be returned to India with dignity.
Police have asked anyone affected by a road crash to contact Road Trauma Support WA.
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