A 16-year-old Taylor Swift fan died in a car accident on Thursday, while she was on her way to the pop sensation's Friday night concert in Australia's Melbourne. As per 7 News Australia, Mieka Pokarier and her 10-year-old sister Freya were being driven to the concert by their mother Kim Litchfield.
The family reportedly were on a 17-hour road trip from the city of Gold Coast to Melbourne, when their SUV collided with a semi-trailer on Dunedoo Rd in Ballimore — near Dubbo, a city in New South Wales.
As per a statement by New South Wales Police, Ms Mieka, who passed away at the scene, was in the front passenger seat.
Ms Mieka's 10-year-old sister, who was sitting in the back, was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition, while the semi-trailer driver was taken to another hospital in a stable condition.
Her mother has also sustained injuries. The police statement read, “The driver of the SUV was treated by NSW (New South Wales) ambulance paramedics before being taken to Dubbo Hospital with minor injuries.”
The statement added, “The rear passenger, a 10-year-old girl, was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition. The driver of the semi-trailer was taken to Dubbo Hospital in stable condition. A crime scene has been established and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident has commenced.”
The Blank Space hitmaker is in Melbourne for the Australia leg of her international Eras Tour.
This Australian tragedy comes close on the heels of the death of another Taylor Swift fan in November last year. As per news agency Agence France Presse, 23-year-old Benevides Machado died at the stadium before Taylor Swift's concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The death took place amidst a record heatwave that had prompted the American singer to postpone an earlier show.
Soon after the incident, Taylor Swift released a statement on Instagram offering her condolences. She said, “This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil. I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this. I'm not going to be able to speak about this from the stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it.”
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour includes 151 shows across five continents. This makes it the highest-grossing tour of all time, surpassing an impressive $1 billion in revenue.