Community grieves and safety concerns collide over roadside memorial
On a rainy afternoon in June 2020, 16-year-old Tyler Hastie was struck and killed while trying to cross a busy highway in Western Australia’s South West. Since then, a white cross has stood on the Bussell Highway near Jaymon Road in Stratham, serving as a quiet beacon for a family and a reminder to passersby. Now, five years after the tragedy, the family is facing a plan by WA’s transport authority to remove and relocate the memorial, citing safety concerns for both visitors and motorists.
The plan and the safety rationale
A Main Roads WA spokesperson said the memorial’s current location poses a serious safety risk for anyone stopping or crossing live traffic to visit. The aim, the authority says, is not about aesthetics but ensuring the safety of people wishing to pay their respects and of the drivers who share that stretch of road. The urgency of the plan has grown as the Bussell Highway undergoes duplication works, complicating attempts by mourners to access the site.
Family response: protection and memory at odds
Tyler’s grandfather, Brian Hastie, remembers a boy he describes as funny and cheeky, a fan of the Harry Potter franchise. “We were always told it was never going to be touched. It’s incorrect to move it,” he said, reflecting a belief that the memorial belongs in its original place. Tyler’s father, Robert Hastie, echoed the emotional struggle, asking how families would feel if their own loved ones were uprooted in similar fashion.
For the Hastie family, the memorial is more than a marker; it is a living space for grief. It offers a place to pause, remember, and even speak to Tyler in moments of sadness. The family has continued visiting the site on a regular basis, seeking a sense of continuity amid a long legal and bureaucratic process that has stretched over years.
Road safety advocates and counsellors weigh in
Road safety experts note that roadside memorials can complicate traffic flows and increase risk for vulnerable visitors. The WA Road Safety Commission, along with WA Police and Main Roads WA, follows a formal Roadside Memorial Policy guiding relocations and removals. Advocates for trauma support, like Heart Hub South West, say moving a memorial can retraumatize families, forcing them to relive the moments of loss and the days of the accident all over again.
Tarryn Sanford, who runs Heart Hub South West after losing her son, Jack, in a 2017 crash, emphasised the emotional dimensions of memorial sites. “Having a memorial on the side of the road is a place where I grieve, cry, and feel close to my son,” she explained. She warned that relocating a memorial could feel like erasing a family’s experience rather than honoring it.
Finding a path forward
Despite the emotional weight of the issue, the transport authority says it is committed to working with the Hastie family to identify a suitable relocation site that preserves the memory while mitigating safety concerns. The process involves input from families, law enforcement, and safety agencies, aiming to reach a solution that respects the memory of Tyler Hastie and protects road users alike.
What comes next for Tyler’s memory
The debate highlights a broader tension between commemorating road trauma and maintaining safe travel conditions on busy highways. For the Hastie family, the road memorial has become a symbol of a son’s life and a reminder of the fragility of everyday journeys. They hope for an outcome that honors Tyler’s memory without compromising safety for the community and the many drivers who rely on the Bussell Highway each day.
Bottom line
As WA authorities review relocation options, the Hastie family’s fight underscores the human cost behind policy decisions. It is a reminder that roads are not just pathways for transport but spaces where memory, grief, and responsibility intersect in very real ways.
