Deadly mistake that changed Australian family's life forever

The couple were just metres away from their hotel when the accident occurred. Photo / Supplied

"She's dead."

Those were the two words that changed Kate Fitzsimons' life forever.

It was a regular Friday night and a 20-year-old Kate was scrolling through her sister Nicole's Facebook holiday photos in Thailand before bed, reports News.com.au.

"She was taking a well-deserved holiday in Koh Samui with her boyfriend," Kate told news.com.au.

"She looked so relaxed. I was jealous."

But just a few hours later her world was turned upside down when she was awakened by a call from her mother. It was a moment Kate said she will never forget.

"At first I thought it was a friend joking around but when I flipped it over and saw it was mum I knew something horrible had happened," she said.

Nicole, 24, and her boyfriend were heading back to their hotel from a quiet dinner together and, like many Australian's visiting Thailand, they were using a motorbike to get around.

Their hotel was only a kilometre down the road so they didn't worry about putting on helmets, something Nicole normally wouldn't do, but everyone else was doing it so they thought it would be OK.

CCTV footage captured the next few seconds that changed everything for Nicole and her family.

The couple was turning into the driveway of their hotel when a local rider tried to overtake them from the inside and crashed into them at 80km/h, with Nicole taking the full impact.

"At first when mum said it was a motorbike accident and she wasn't wearing a helmet I didn't believe it, because Nicole was safety conscious and wouldn't do that," Kate said.

"The reality of how serious it was set in when mum said just to pray to god that she survives."

Nicole's boyfriend was relatively unscathed but Nicole wasn't so lucky. She was rushed into surgery but a few hours later Kate received the news that her sister has lost her fight for life.

"I remember I had just gotten in the car and mum called and said 'She's dead'. Our world was never the same after those words," Kate said.

"The horror that followed in the next few hours is something that will stick with me forever."

Five year's on from Nicole's death, Kate still thinks about her sister every day and has dedicated her life to saving others from this horrible experience.

"The whole experience made me think about how many other poor families are going through this," she said.

"So I started researching how many Australian deaths occur in Thailand and I was absolutely shocked by the results."

One third of all Australian overseas deaths in 2017 occurred in South East Asia, with a massive 523 deaths equal to one Australian dying every 17 hours, new research from finder.com.au found.

Despite only coming in at fifth on the list of most popular travel destinations for Australians, Thailand had the highest rate of deaths and hospitalisations for our travellers.

Kate made the decision to leave her corporate job and, with the help of her family, started the Nicole Fitzsimons Foundation which aims to educate young people about travel safety.

"I thought that Nicole's story was one that needed to be shared. We have CCTV footage of the accident and I feel that really helps to drive the message home to people," Kate said.

"I know if my sister had heard this story I know she never would have gotten on that bike. She wasn't a risk taker but because you get there and everyone else is doing it she didn't even comprehend the danger."

To date Kate has managed to reach more than 50,000 students and educate them about the potential dangers of overseas travel.

"I can't wrap them in cotton wool and ensure nothing ever happens, but I can give them the tools they need to make safe decisions," she said.

"I would have moved heaven and earth to save my sister's life, so I will move heaven and earth to save someone else's.

"If I can save just one person and stop another family having to experience that phone call then I will be happy."