A teenage girl traveling to Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour concert in Melbourne, Australia, was killed in a car accident.
On Thursday (Feb. 15), fan Mieka Pokarier, 16, was traveling with her mother and 10-year-old sister from the Gold Coast to the pop superstar’s show in Melbourne Cricket Ground when their sports utility vehicle crashed into a semi truck, TMZ reports.
Mieka died at the scene, while her younger sister was flown to a Sydney’s Westmead Hospital in a critical condition and placed in an induced coma, according to the New York Post. Their mother, who was driving, was treated by paramedics and taken to another hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the semi truck was also taken to a hospital and was in stable condition.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Police are still investigating the cause of the crash. No one had been arrested, charged or ticketed for the accident at press time, TMZ reports.
The sisters’ godmother, Karleigh Fox, said the girls were very excited to see Swift in concert and had bought tickets to the singer’s concerts in Melbourne and Sydney, according to the Post.
“Last night one of my dearest friends was driving from the Gold Coast to Melbourne with two of her children (my god children) when they were involved in a front on collision with a semi trailer,” Fox wrote on a GoFundMe page.
“We are heartbroken to have lost one of her children (aged 16) whilst the 10-year-old has been lifted to Westmead Hospital in critical condition, fighting for her life with brain injuries, a damaged pelvis, and a broken leg.” She added, “This was supposed to be a road trip of a lifetime with them going to concerts in both Melbourne and Sydney.”
Swift’s three-night stand at Melbourne Cricket Ground launched on Friday (Feb. 16) and wraps Sunday (Feb. 18). From there, she’s scheduled for back-to-back concerts at Sydney’s Accor Stadium (Feb. 23-25). Other international stops include Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Europe and Canada.
In November 2023, another Swift, 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado, died from heat exhaustion at the superstar’s Eras Tour show at Estadio Nilton Santon in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Following her death, Swift shared an emotional message on social media and postponed her concert the following evening.