A talented football player is being mourned by his community after he was killed in a horror crash that sliced his Holden Commodore in two.
Daniel Wood, 35, was just minutes from home when his station wagon slammed into a pole on Uley Road, north of One Tree Hill in the Adelaide Hills, at 1.30am on Monday.
He was pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts by paramedics.
Shocking footage showed how the Commodore had been broken in two from the impact, with debris scattered across the road.
Mr Wood, affectionately known as ‘Woody’, was described by the Gumeracha Football Club as a ‘loyal, lovable member of the Magpie family’.
‘Sometimes there just aren’t the right words,’ a post on Facebook read.
‘How do you do justice to honour the memory of a guy like Woody? How do you say goodbye to a guy like Woody?
‘Our hearts are broken to lose him. #26 – Never to be forgotten. Rest in Paradise Woody. We’ll all miss you mate.’
Daniel Wood, known affectionately as ‘Woody’ by friends, died in a car crash on Monday
Mr Wood’s Holden Commodore was cut in two from the impact of hitting the pole with debris seen scattered across the main road (pictured)
Mr Wood’s uncle Benn said his nephew had been ‘exceptional’.
‘ … Forever wearing a warm smile and always standing ready to lend a supportive hand to anyone in need, a true embodiment of hope and inspiration, leaving an indelible mark on our hearts …’ he wrote on Facebook.
‘Words can’t describe the pain we are feeling you will be in our hearts always and forever.’
Friends also shared tributes to the 35-year-old.
‘In utter disbelief!!! Daniel Wood the world won’t be the same without you in it,’ friend Stuie Kirk wrote on Facebook.
‘From our school days, to the club days, to the catch up at the Blacky days. Your presence will be missed, always the first one to crack the joke or take the p***.
‘You were the definition of a good bloke. I can’t believe you are gone and my heart breaks for you and your family.
‘Devastated. I hope you found the peace we all search for. Til we meet again.’
The 35-year-old (pictured at a footy awards night) was described by the Gumeracha Football Club as a ‘loyal, lovable member of the Magpie family’
Friends said the talented footy player (pictured) was the ‘definition of a good bloke’
‘The Holden station wagon failed to negotiate a bend and hit a pole, the impact splitting the car in half,’ police said.
‘Sadly, the driver, a 35-year-old One Tree Hill man, died at the scene.’
Mr Wood’s death marks the 16th road fatality in South Australia this year, following a head-on collision on the same road on January 31.
The incidents have sparked calls from locals to lower the 100km/hour speed limit.
