Taylor Swift fan, 16, killed in car crash on way to concert with sister and mom

17 February 2024 , 19:28

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Mieka Pokarier tragically died in Australia on Thursday (Image: 9news)

A Taylor Swift fan tragically lost her life earlier this week while driving to the pop superstar's concert in Australia.

Reports claim that Mieka Pokarier, 16, was in an SUV with her mother and her sister as the family were driving from the Gold Coast to Taylor's show in Melbourne when they collided with a semi-truck near Dubbo in New South Wales at around 6pm on Thursday. The teenager and her 10-year-old sister Freya were severely injured, and their mum Kim was hurt too.

The emergency services rushed to the scene to help the two sisters, but Mieka was pronounced dead. Her sister was taken to a local hospital in a serious condition and their mum was hospitalised too, but her condition was not known.

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Taylor Swift performing at Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 16 (Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana)

According to TMZ, the truck driver was also taken to the hospital but is believed to be in a stable condition. An investigation is ongoing and nobody has so far been arrested, charged or ticketed.

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Today, the girls' father shared his grief for Mieka on Facebook, writing: "That's my baby that died." The girls' godmother, Karleigh Fox, told the Courier Mail that the two sisters were looking forward to attending Taylor's concert.

Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the scene of the crash (9news)

She said: "This was supposed to be a road trip of a lifetime with them going to concerts in both Melbourne and Sydney." Images from the scene of the crash show plumes of black smoke rising into the sky as the emergency services try to help the victims.

The tragedy happened after another Swiftie, Ana Clara Benevides Machado, died of heat exhaustion at Taylor's concert in Rio de Janeiro in November. The 23-year-old psychology student, who did not have pre-existing conditions or substance abuse, suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest, according to a forensics report.

The singer announced in an Instagram story that she was "devastated" by her fan's death and that she felt overwhelmed by grief. She said: "This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil."

The concert went ahead despite soaring temperatures, as Rio recorded its highest temperature ever. More than 60,000 people attended the show but the venue had prohibited fans from bringing water bottles inside.

Chiara Fiorillo