Dare-devil prank ends in tragedy for family

Snooks McLean leaves a fiancee and three children.

He was a boisterous kind of guy who liked to "push the envelope every now and then".

But on Sunday night Bo "Snooks" McLean pushed it too far when he climbed out the window and on to the roof rack of the van he was in.

The 24-year-old father of three youngsters fell from the moving vehicle and into the middle of the road in Birkdale.

He died, surrounded by friends and family, before an ambulance arrived.

Senior Sergeant Gary Hill of the North Shore police said preliminary inquiries had found that Mr McLean managed to climb on to the roof of the van while it was travelling at a regular speed.

"As the vehicle rounded a curve at the approach to Verrans Corner, the victim lost his balance and footing and then fell from the roof of the vehicle on to the road below."

Mr Hill said the North Shore man's death was a "tragic event that should not have happened".

The fatality was initially reported by police as a hit-and-run but Mr McLean's family say that was never the case.

His brother, Errol Sturmfels, said several family members were in the van going home after a social event when Mr McLean decided to climb out.

He said the 29-year-old driver, a relative who did not even know Mr McLean was trying to get out, stopped about 20m from the accident scene after being told what had happened.

Family members then went back to where Mr McLean lay and waited with him until the ambulance arrived.

Mr Sturmfels said the family wanted to make it clear Mr McLean was not trying to "roof surf" - a move seen in recent television advertisements where young people "surf" on top of vehicles.

"He was playing a practical joke and slipped."

Mr Sturmfels described his brother as having a boisterous personality.

"He tried to push the envelope every now and then. I think this would be the most extreme thing I have heard him do. It was just a prank that went horribly wrong."

Mr Sturmfels said he hoped his brother's death would serve as a warning to other people wanting to try a similar prank.

"It may be fun at the time but the outcome isn't good," he said. "Three young children and a fiancee will go through life with no dad or partner."