Woman, 26, killed in horror bus crash in Queensland was a young tourist on the trip of a lifetime

By OLIVIA DAY, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 23:52, 15 May 2026 | Updated: 23:59, 15 May 2026 The sole victim of a horror bus crash in Queensland has been identified as a young Argentine-Italian tourist who was on the trip of a lifetime.  Serena Andreatta, 26, had been travelling through Thailand and Vietnam with a friend before her life was tragically cut short in North Queensland this week.  Ms Andreatta had been on a charter coach, travelling from Cairns to Airlie Beach, when it rolled off the Bruce Highway near Gumlu in Queensland's Whitsundays.  There were 29 people on the FlixBus bus when it crashed about 4pm on Thursday, including the driver, a 70-year-old man who was taken to hospital with minor injuries. Ms Andreatta sadly died from her injuries in hospital later that night.  Two other passengers suffered life-threatening injuries and remain in hospital as of Saturday morning. The driver, a Mackay man, has been released from hospital.  Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said Ms Andreatta had been in 'her prime'. 'Someone in the prime of their life, on the trip of a lifetime, in another country, has lost their life,' he told ABC News on Friday. The sole victim of a horror bus crash in Queensland has been identified as a young Argentine-Italian tourist who was on the trip of a lifetime in Australia 'You've got young people in many cases living out their dream in a foreign country and to have something like this happen, I can only imagine what that feels like for the parents and families, in many cases, on the other side of the globe.' FlixBus has since claimed the driver was not speeding and tested negative for drugs and alcohol after undergoing mandatory testing.  Queensland Police are yet to confirm the company's claims. Officers are still working to determine how the fatal crash unfolded, which comes just two years after a different coach came off the road and rolled in the same place.  Serena Andreatta, 26, had been travelling through Thailand and Vietnam with a friend before her life was tragically cut short in North Queensland this week No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.