A young boy who survived the devastating Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle tragedy has been identified as the teenager killed after his e-bike collided with a pole on New Year’s Eve.
Lucas Reid, 15, was riding his e-bike on Don Heads Road in Devonport at approximately 7:30pm when the accident occurred.
The teen had previously made a recovery from serious injuries sustained in the 2021 Hillcrest Primary School disaster that claimed six young lives.
Reid spent weeks in hospital and required a wheelchair following the jumping castle incident on December 16 2021, when a gust of wind lifted the inflatable 10 metres into the air.
The incident tragically claimed the lives of six Hillcrest Primary students – Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt, all of whom were in grades five and six.
The jumping castle had been set up as part of end-of-year celebrations before it was carried across the primary school’s oval by the strong wind.
An outpouring of community grief has followed the confirmation of Reid’s death, with many remembering his strength and resilience during his recovery from the 2021 tragedy.
Minister Jane Howlett said the state government’s “heart goes out to Lucas’s family, his friends and his loved ones and all the Hillcrest community”.
“It’s absolutely devastating, it really is. And we will continue to support the Hillcrest family and Lucas’s family,” she said.
