The father of an Altona Meadows teenager who died after jumping from the West Gate Bridge in 2009 is suing VicRoads for his loss and psychiatric injury.
Ali Halkic has filed a writ in the County Court claiming damages, costs and interest in relation to the death of his son, Allem, aged 17.
In 2012, coroner Audrey Jamieson found Allem’s death could not have been prevented.
She said the annual average number of suicides from the bridge decreased from 10.5 to 1.6 after temporary safety barriers began to be installed two months after Allem died.
The inquest heard emergency personnel trying to reach Allem after he had jumped were hampered by factors such as locked gates and poor lighting under the bridge.
Allem started walking on the bridge at 4.39am.
He used a VicRoads emergency phone at 4.53am, telling the call-taker that he was going to jump.
He vaulted from the bridge at 5am.
Police found him alive at 5.18am.
Paramedics tried to revive him under police torchlight, but he was declared dead at 5.40am.
“Every single moment of your life, you’re waking up and you’re just thinking about his suffering and him being alone and in a dark place, and all those things that are associated with the night,” Mr Halkic told Star Weekly on Monday.
“I read his coroner’s report … he was in and out of consciousness and he died of a heart attack in the end. At the end of the day, did the fall actually kill Allem, or did the lack of response kill Allem?”
VicRoads regional director Nial Finnigan told the 2012 inquest that “no-climb” barriers would be installed on the bridge, along with new cameras to automatically detect pedestrians and trigger an “instantaneous” response from trained personnel.
Mr Finnigan also told the inquest there would be a permanent security office under the bridge, with personnel able to open gates, and the area would be automatically floodlit.
In April 2010, Bacchus Marsh man Shane Phillip Gerada, then 21, was convicted of stalking Allem before his death.
Anyone with problems can call Lifeline on 131 114 or the Suicide Helpline on 1300 651 251.
The Compassionate Friends, a support group for bereaved parents, can be reached on 98884944.
