Premier Jeremy Rockliff has paid tribute to Launceston nurse Elaine Gee, who was killed after a head-on crash on the West Tamar Highway on Friday afternoon.
Rockliff described her death as a huge loss, saying Gee had given more than two decades of service at the Launceston General Hospital.
“My heart goes out to Elaine’s family, all her friends and colleagues and loved ones,” he said.
“We will support all her colleagues at the LGH, friends and families.”
“It is a huge loss to our community, but especially her family, friends and loved ones and all our hearts go out to them.”
A fundraiser set up for Gee’s family has raised more than $115,000 in under 24 hours, attracting more than 1,100 separate donations including single contributions of $5,000 and $4,000.
Tributes have flooded in for the much-loved nurse.
“This shows the power of this little island when united,” one commenter wrote.
The 39-year-old Winkleigh woman died in hospital after spending two days fighting for her life.
She was the sole occupant of a blue Nissan Navara travelling north at Legana when a man driving a blue Skoda collided with her vehicle shortly before 4:40pm on Friday.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police believe he was responsible for a serious stabbing at a home on Main Road in Exeter shortly before the crash.
The stabbing victim remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Fundraiser organiser Lisa Gibson said Gee had worked as a nurse at the Launceston General Hospital for 20 years, beginning as a surgical nurse before moving into patient flow management.
For the past year she had worked as a project nurse focused on improving patient flow at rural facilities.
“She has left behind a legacy of genuine care and relentless advocacy and our community is forever better for her commitment to people in need,” Gibson wrote.
Gibson described Gee and her husband Rodney as high school sweethearts who had been together since they were 15.
“What was supposed to be Elaine’s 40th birthday will now be her funeral,” she wrote.
Gee is survived by Rodney, their two sons aged six and 10, her mother Sue and brother Andy.
