Herald entertainment reporter Lillie Rohan speaks to Swifties queueing up to get merch ahead of tonight's Eras Tour concert at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Video / Megan Watts
Police were called to the scene on a regional road about 30km northeast of Dubbo, New South Wales, about 6pm on Thursday. They later said the car the family was travelling in crashed head-on into a semi-trailer truck.
Mieka was pronounced dead at the scene. Her younger sister, Freya, was flown to hospital, where she remains in a critical condition with brain injuries, a broken leg and damaged pelvis.
The mother of the two girls, Kim Litchfield, and the truck driver received minor injuries and were treated in a Dubbo hospital. Litchfield has since been released and is now watching over her younger daughter in Sydney, where her husband, Peter, and their other daughter have been praying for Freya’s recovery.
Peter Pokarier with his 10-year-old daughter Freya, who remains in an induced coma. Photo / Facebook
Godmother Karleigh Fox created a GoFundMe to help support the family.
In an update posted to the appeal page, which has raised over $60,000 as of Monday, Fox said it was too early to know whether Freya’s condition would improve.
“We had some thorough chats with the incredible doctors about the potential prognosis and we are not out of the woods yet with risks of swelling in the brain and infection still evident,” Fox wrote.
“We are keeping our girl in an induced coma for a few more days in order to give her body a chance to stay still and hopefully recover as much as possible.”
In a video later posted to YouTube, Fox criticised misinformation in the media surrounding Freya’s condition. While acknowledging the girl remained in the ICU in a critical condition, Fox stressed Freya was “stable” and her brain showed no evidence of life-threatening damage.
Freya’s brain is being closely “monitored for swelling,” which has also not been confirmed to be an issue. The “real work” would begin “when she is conscious.”
Fox put forward some kind words for her late goddaughter Meika, calling her a “smart and creative” girl who lost her life too early.
Meika Pokarier, a 16-year-old girl from the Gold Coast, was killed in a car crash on Thursday while travelling to Melbourne with her mother and younger sister for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert.
“She’s been a Taylor Swift fan for over 10 years, and she loved maths, she loved pottery, she was always making people things with pottery and going to classes,” Fox wrote.
“She was very talented, she’s always been into creating friendship bracelets.”
Fox spent time with Meika the day before they departed on their road trip. She said Meika had wrapped up a shift at the takeaway restaurant she recently started working at and was ready to get on the road to watch her favourite person perform for the first time with her mother and sister.
“They spent up to eight hours refreshing and trying to get tickets. They’re really dedicated and they were stoked to get tickets for both shows in Melbourne and Sydney,” Fox said.
“Then to make a big holiday, it was supposed to be an 11-day road trip to catch up with friends and see the sights.”
Meika’s friends have been sharing their messages of grief and support in the days following the news of her death, with the hashtag #forever16 circulating among them.
Her friend Cheyenne Craig, 17, explained how Meika “had so many plans for the future” and was in the process of learning how to drive.
“How is it fair that someone as sweet and beautiful as you was taken away from us so soon?” Craig posted on social media.
Taylor Swift played to a sold-out crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 16. Photo / Getty Images
“Mieka was the sweetest, most down to earth person you could’ve ever had the privilege of knowing, her stupid jokes that always made no sense but somehow always made you laugh... and the way we would spend the entire day talking about concerts.”
Simone Medland, another of Meika’s friends, said her friend was her inspiration in life.
“I was so happy to see you happy living your life and going to concerts. You deserved to be happy and there are so many people that care about you,” Medland wrote online.
