Young Footballer's Death on Hindley Street Sparks Urgent Safety Calls

The Adelaide community is grappling with the "heartbreaking loss" of 18-year-old Campbell Thorp, a young footballer and apprentice who tragically died after being hit by two cars on Hindley Street. Thorp was struck by a car around 10:50 p.m. on Saturday and subsequently fell into the path of a four-wheel-drive, succumbing to his injuries in hospital.

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It is with immense sadness that the Tea Tree Gully District Football Club acknowledges the tragic passing of Campbell Thorp.

Thorp was a respected member of the Greenwith community and played for the Tea Tree Gully District Football Club. The club issued a statement expressing "immense sadness" over the "tragic passing" of one of their own, highlighting the Thorp family's long-standing contributions to the club. Adelaide Training & Employment Centre, where Thorp was a carpentry apprentice, also paid tribute, calling his death a "heartbreaking loss" and extending condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

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His passing is a heartbreaking loss, and our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Campbell's family, friends, workmates, the Haywood Co. team, and everyone whose lives he touched.

The fatal crash has intensified demands from Adelaide city councillors for an urgent safety overhaul of Hindley Street, a well-known nightlife precinct. Councillor Patrick Maher described the need for an upgrade as having "an element of urgency for some years" and proposed making the street one-way to reduce vehicle traffic. He suggested this could be implemented quickly without major infrastructure changes.

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It's quite upsetting that it takes a tragedy for everyone to come around to this problem again.

Councillor Mary Couros supported the idea of closing Hindley Street to vehicles on Friday and Saturday nights, similar to measures in other city areas. She believes this would significantly enhance pedestrian safety while allowing the street's vibrant night-time economy to flourish, without impacting its daytime commercial activity. The community hopes these calls for improved safety will lead to concrete action to prevent future tragedies.

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It would work in a very high safety aspect for pedestrians, and to be able to function in that night-time economy that Hindley Street does have, without taking away the daytime economy that the street has as well.