Flexibus investigates separate incident day before fatal crash on Bruce Highway that killed Argentine Italian national Serena Andreatta

A bus operator that was involved in a crash that killed a young tourist on a notorious stretch of Queensland’s Bruce Highway has confirmed it is investigating a separate incident that occurred a day earlier.

A passenger told 9 News the driver allegedly appeared sick and fatigued, and hit a guardrail while it was travelling between Cairns and Airlie Beach last Wednesday.

A Flexibus spokesman confirmed they received a complaint about an incident on the day of the fatal crash and it was being investigated by their operations and traffic control teams.

A 70-year-old driver was carrying 28 passengers from Cairns to Brisbane when it rolled near Gumlu, about 160km south of Townsville, at 4pm last Thursday.

The horror bus rollover killed Argentine and Italian national Serena Andreatta, 26, and seriously injured 17 others.

The bus was carrying mostly foreign and Australian tourists.

A spokesman for the bus company said they were heartbroken that Ms Andreatta died in hospital.

“Out of respect for the ongoing investigation and the families involved, we will not speculate or comment on possible causes at this stage,” a spokesman said.

“Our local coach operator continues to work closely with Queensland Police, emergency services, and local authorities as they investigate the cause of the accident.

“At this time, based on information communicated to us through this collaboration, we understand that the bus driver was not speeding and has returned clean results on drug and alcohol testing.

“We have also received confirmation that the bus had received the coach had passed its annual safety inspection conducted by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) on May 6 this year, with zero defects identified.

“As part of this process, NHVR inspectors assessed and signed off the vehicle as being mechanically sound.”

Premier David Crisafulli said he could “only imagine” what the families of the victims were thinking and feeling.

He said Ms Andreatta was on a “trip of a lifetime” when the tragedy unfolded.

“Someone in the prime of their life, on the trip of a lifetime, in another country, has lost their life,” he told ABC News.

“I think today people want me to acknowledge what is an incredible tragedy, and we should pause and reflect on that.”

Mr Crisafulli said it was time to “improve” the infrastructure of the Bruce Highway.

“It really is tragic. You’ve got young people, in many cases living out their dream in a foreign country, and to have something like this happen … it’s something that will be felt for a long, long time to come,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“It’s obviously early days and our focus has to be on the loss of life. We’ve got several people clinging to life. Without speaking specifically about the incident, I’ve long been on the record (for) the need to improve that Bruce Highway.

“It’s such an important road for our state, for our nation, and it’s not up to scratch, and we have to do everything we can to continue to invest in it so we can take it to the next level.”