Teen headed to Taylor Swift concert in Australia killed when SUV crashes into semi
Taylor Swift: The singer performed at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. (Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
A 16-year-old fan of Taylor Swift who was headed to a concert in Australia to see the pop star was killed on Thursday when her family was involved in a head-on crash with a semi-trailer, authorities said.
Mieka Pokarier was traveling from the Gold Coast with her mother and 10-year-old sister when their vehicle and a semi-trailer collided about 18 miles northeast of Dubbo in New South Wales, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The girls and their mother were on an 11-day road trip to catch the 14-time Grammy Award winner during her Eras Tour stop at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, according to 7 News Australia.
Pokarier, who was in the front passenger seat, died at the scene, CNN reported. Her sister, who was in the back seat, is in critical condition at an area hospital, according to 7 News Australia.
The younger child was in an induced coma with swelling on her brain and organ damage, the Morning News reported. She also had a broken leg and a suspected shoulder fracture.
Their mother, Kim Litchfield, was treated by paramedics before she was transported to Dubbo Hospital with minor injuries, 7 News Australia reported.
The driver of the semi-trailer was taken to Dubbo Hospital and was in stable condition, New South Wales police said in a statement.
Pokarier’s godmother, Karleigh Fox, said the teen was “vivacious and very cheeky,” the Morning Herald. Fox said that Pokarier would make pottery and friendship bracelets for her loved ones and had a close relationship with her siblings.
“She just had this sparkle in her eye,” Fox told the newspaper. “And it sounds really cliched, but she was just a really beautiful person who was very thoughtful.”
Fox said the girls were “super fans’ of Swift.
“It just kind of feels like Mieka must just be staying at someone’s house and I think it’s really going to hit us further when we get home, the reality of it, that she’s not coming back,” Fox told 9 News Australia. “When we opened the iPad, it was heartbreaking. Mieka’s cat’s name is Mr Perfectly Fine, which is a song of Taylor’s.”
Litchfield has kept a bedside vigil for her surviving daughter at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital, the Australian Broadcasting Company reported.
“She had brain surgery, they shaved this part of her head, she looks like the most beautiful Viking you’ve ever seen,” Litchfield told the news outlet.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Pokarier’s relatives.
“My family are what I live for,” the girl’s father, Peter Pokarier, told 7 News Australia. “I’m devastated.”
New South Wales police confirmed that an investigation is ongoing.
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years Here are some memorable photos of Taylor Swift through the years. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2006: Country singer Taylor Swift arrives at the 41st annual Academy of Country Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 23, 2006, in Las Vegas. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2007: Music artist Taylor Swift performs during the Academy of Country Music New Artists' Party for a Cause show at the MGM Grand Conference Center on May 14, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2008: Singer Taylor Swift arrives at the 50th annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center on February 10, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2009: Kanye West (left) jumps onstage after Taylor Swift (center) won the "Best Female Video" award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009, in New York City. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2010: Musicians Kary Perry and Taylor Swift during the 52nd annual Grammy Awards Salute to Icons Honoring Doug Morris held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 30, 2010, in Beverly Hills, California. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2011: Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez perform onstage during the "Speak Now World Tour" at Madison Square Garden on November 22, 2011, in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2012: Taylor Swift performs onstage during the MTV EMA's 2012 at Festhalle Frankfurt on November 11, 2012, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for MTV)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2013: Taylor Swift arrives at the 55th annual Grammy Awards on February 10, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2014: Musician Taylor Swift attends the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2015: Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on February 8, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2016: Recording artist Taylor Swift attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016, in Beverly Hills, California. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2017: Musician Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Super Saturday Night Concert at Club Nomadic on February 4, 2017, in Houston. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for DIRECTV)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2018: Taylor Swift attends the 2018 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on October 9, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2019: Taylor Swift performs during the TIME 100 Gala 2019 Dinner at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TIME)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2020: Taylor Swift attends the 2020 Sundance Film Festival "Miss Americana" Premiere at Eccles Center Theatre on January 23, 2020, in Park City, Utah. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2021: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner accept the Album of the Year award for "Folklore" onstage during the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2021: Taylor Swift attends the "All Too Well" New York Premiere on November 12, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) (DIMITRIOS.KAMBOURIS@GETTYIMAGES.COM/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2021: Writer-director Taylor Swift attends a premiere for the short film "All Too Well" at AMC Lincoln Square 13 on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) (Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2022: Taylor Swift speaks during a graduation ceremony for New York University at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2022: Taylor Swift waves to graduates as she participates in a graduation ceremony for New York University at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management) (Mat Hayward/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana)