Man killed in cattle truck accident remembered as "a larrikin"

Todd Horwood died when the top deck of a cattle truck loaded with cattle allegedly collapsed on him and another man in his 50s, who is in a stable condition in Gold Coast University Hospital.

The accident occurred last Thursday afternoon at a property on the Dawson Highway near Bauhinia owned by Ray Scott Pastoral where Todd had been working as a station hand since April last year.

Todd's elder sister Christie Horwood told Queensland Country Life her brother never wanted to let people down and would be remembered as a larrikin.

She said one of his sayings was "suns out, guns out" as he liked to wear sleeveless shirts when the sun was shining and he was known in drag racing circles as 'Top Fuel Toddy'.

"He was a larrikin, he had everyone laughing, there wasn't a dull moment with him," she said.

Christie said Todd dressed up as Santa Claus last Christmas, arriving in a semi-trailer to deliver presents to all the kids at one of the local schools near Bauhinia.

"He did it just to make the kids' day,"she said.

Through tears, Christie described her brother as "one of the kindest, most generous people who was everyone's mate".

"We lost our mother a few years back so this is tough, my dad is 79 and this has really just shattered the family," she said.

From a large family of four boys and three girls, and four half sisters, Todd grew up at Anstead, in Brisbane's western suburbs, attending Moggill State School and Ipswich Grammar.

He left high school in Year 10 to take up an apprenticeship as a diesel fitter at the family business, Southern Cross Transit, a bus company at Karalee.

Christie said if he had not become a diesel fitter, he would have become a chef as he loved to cook.

"Anything mum taught him, he reckons he cooked better...he baked, he'd do anything on the barbecue, anything in the oven so he could cook up a piece of steak, he could cook a roast, he could cook up a gourmet feast, but at the same time he could make banana muffins from scratch," she said.

Christie recalls he was "a cheeky kid who always had everyone laughing" and had a thirst for knowledge.

"He was the apple of everyone's eye and he never lost that. He had a cheeky grin and eyes to melt everyone's heart," she said.

"We're a very close family. When you grow up with that size family you don't need friends necessarily because you've got enough people around you for your own little footy team...we still obviously had our own group of friends and Todd has always been one of those people who others gravitated to.

"He went out of his way for anybody and everybody and made everyone feel as though they were his best friend, and nothing was ever too much trouble for him."

Christie said her brother had a wide circle of life-long friends, in and outside the work place.

"He was the type of person who would do whatever was necessary to put a smile on your face," she said.

After Southern Cross Transit, Todd worked at Detroit Diesel/Penske Australia for at least 10 years.

Christie said Todd made the decision in April last year to follow his "dream job" and work on a cattle station.

She said he was working as "a jack of all trades" doing whatever needed to be done with his primary role as a station hand/operator.

"Our dad, Wally, owns a property with cattle at Borallon so for the past 10-15 years, Todd has been making regular trips out to the farm," she said.

Todd also had an interest in drag racing at Willowbank; as a teenager, he used to do off-road go karting; and he was involved in building engines for drag cars named Agent Orange and Chemical Warfare.

Christie said her brother's nickname in drag racing circles was 'Top Fuel Toddy'.

Todd's funeral will be held on Monday, March 18, at 10am at Warrill Park Lawn Cemetery, opposite Willowbank.