A 36-year-old service station worker has died after being hit by a ute while checking underground tank levels on a Coffs Harbour forecourt. His death puts one of the most routine jobs on any site, a dip on the driveway, under scrutiny for every operator with staff working near moving vehicles.
What police say happened
NSW Police said the worker was crouched and checking tank levels at a service station on Harbour Drive at about 7pm on Tuesday 20 October when he was struck. Emergency services worked for about half an hour to free him. He was taken to Coffs Harbour Base Hospital with crush injuries and flown to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, where he died on Sunday 25 October.
Acting Inspector Amanda Crouch said the driver had come to the service station to buy fuel and was leaving the forecourt at the time, and that the two were not known to each other.
A 44-year-old woman has been charged with negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, along with a breach of bail on separate matters. Police said no further charges had been laid at that stage. The Crash Investigation Unit and SafeWork NSW are investigating, and a report is being prepared for the coroner.
Down low and out of sight
A worker crouched over a fill point at night sits below a driver’s natural line of sight, in the part of the forecourt where cars are pulling away. Every site has that moment several times a week.
What the guidance says
Safe Work Australia’s guide to workplace traffic management (April 2021) is general rather than written for forecourts, but its principles transfer directly:
- keep people and vehicles apart wherever possible
- mark out the work area with cones, bollards or barrier boards
- create exclusion zones around the work
- wear high-visibility clothing, which should be reflective at night
- make sure work areas are well lit
For independent operators
Most sites dip tanks the same way they did ten years ago, and most have never written down how it should be done. This week is a good time to change that. Set a simple rule:
- cones go around the fill point before anyone kneels
- a high-visibility vest is kept with the dipstick
- dips are done in daylight or quiet periods where the delivery schedule allows
- at night, a second person watches the driveway
Put it in your safe work procedure, train new employees on it in their first week, and check it is actually happening. Sites with automatic tank gauges dip less often, but deliveries and calibration still put staff on the driveway.
Our thoughts are with the worker’s family, friends and colleagues.
Information current as at 30 October 2026. The matter is before the Coffs Harbour Local Court, and a report is being prepared for the coroner.