Sharing Lauren’s Memories

The folks at O’Brienco Transport at Wellcamp, on the outskirts of Toowoomba, are all about supporting their local community.

The tragic death of Lauren Smith, who hailed from the town of Clifton, some 55 kilometres south of Toowoomba, galvanised the transport business to make a lasting tribute to family friend Lauren and to raise awareness of epilepsy.

On 2 April 2024, at the age of 20, Lauren lost her life to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), bringing the entire community of Clifton, some 55 kiliometres south of Toowoomba, together.

The tragedy of Lauren also highlighted the importance of the early diagnosis of the condition, and the many medical conditions associated with it.

Growing up in the Darling Downs with the Smith family, the O’Briens were deeply affected by Lauren’s death and, after hearing about her unexpected passing, they knew they needed to honour her.

“I knew Lauren as a good family friend from my childhood – our families grew up together,” O’Brienco Transport Sales Manager and Linehaul Coordinator, Jack O’Brien, fondly recalls.

“Lauren developed epilepsy as she got older, and became very outspoken on the illness, raising awareness on living with it and how it didn’t stop her from living her life.

“She just wanted people to know that it didn’t hold her back.”

“I was talking to Lauren’s parents, Craig and Susan, at the funeral about how passionate she was around raising awareness for epilepsy,” says Jack.

“She always put herself out there and shared information around her struggles, seizures and the many near-death experiences she had. So, I said to them, ‘Why don’t we continue that legacy? We have some ambitions and I’d love to do something like that, too’.”

Jack’s wish very quickly became a reality. Working with Epilepsy Queensland, O’Brienco Transport ordered and customised a Mack Super-Liner prime mover to be painted in a distinctive lilac livery and named ‘Lozza’s Legacy’, to honour of Lauren Smith.

It and another Mack Super-Liner were recently delivered to O’Brienco Transport by the Western Truck Group (WTG).

The idea to order and deploy a prime mover commemorating Lauren took the O’Briens and all involved 12 months to bring about, from concept to realisation.

“When we had the idea of doing this charity set, we wanted to partner with companies that have supported us throughout our massive year of growth,” Jack says.

“WTG and Mack were both at the top of that list. Partnering with them has been fantastic, and aligns with our business values. If you support us, we’ll support you back.”

But the O’Brien’s weren’t finished. With the help of its suppliers and customers, launched a Vawdrey Performance-Based Standards (PBS) B-triple road train for Lauren and Epilepsy Queensland.

The new B-triple sets have made a colourful statement as they ply their trade on the highways, with one branded with the standard O’Brienco Transport blue and orange colours and the Epilepsy Queensland purple.

Through the thousands of kilometres travelled, O’Brienco is now bringing awareness to epilepsy while sharing Lauren’s story.

The project was a true multi-community effort, with all parties involved in the build pitched in to show their support — just how the entire Clifton community came together for Lauren and her family.

“I couldn’t believe the support it got,” Jack says. “I was just throwing some ideas out to some of our partners, but everyone that I spoke to jumped on board.

“Vawdrey has donated to the charity. Attards provided the curtains and design work for free.

“The B-triple came with a Mack Super-Liner prime mover and Mack, Western Truck Group and some of our other appliance providers have thrown things in. Our insurance broker, AEI, and one of our main customers, Pacific Seeds, have also come on board.

“The support I received from what could have been considered just a throwaway idea has been amazing. I think it’s going to have a huge impact for Lauren’s family and friends.”

Now fully deployed on the roads, ‘Lozza’s Legacy’, and its sister prime mover, are supporting O’Brienco’s national logistics operations by making bi-weekly trips to Perth from Toowoomba, delivering a range of agricultural goods like seedlings and produce.

According to Jack O’Brien, the prime movers’ freight carrying capabilities are greatly bolstered by their 130-tonne ratings.

“They can carry a bit of weight, which is what we need for what we’re moving,” he says.

“This will mainly be seen and other goods. Food is among the core freight that we carry, and in the past, we’d deliver seeds to farms, and then return to those farms months later to pick up the fruit which has grown from those seeds.

“These trucks will help us provide an entire solution for the supply chain. We want to pick up the final product as well.”

In addition to agricultural food, O’Brienco’s Mack Super-Liners are moving a range of equipment, including miscellaneous parts to tyre tracks, and other components. These journeys are greatly assisted by the prime movers’ 700hp engines.

These prime movers also boast comprehensive maintenance plans, in addition to a plethora of creature comforts.

The Mack Super-Liners were ordered with 58-inch sleeper cabs, fridges, freezers, televisions, microwaves, power points and cooler systems.

To O’Brien, including these comfort specs’ was the least he could do to ensure his drivers were happy on long trips.

“Our drivers are away for long periods of time on these routes,” he explains.

“So, we want these trucks to be as comfortable for them as possible. That’s key to our business.”

As these prime movers venture across Australia, ‘Lozza’s Legacy’ will continue to raise awareness through their use in various charity events, along with its customised livery which includes barcodes to a website providing information on Smith and her campaign.

“The truck and trailer set will be used for charity events around the year,” Jack O’Brien says.

“We plan on having a race day in Toowoomba for epilepsy, and it will fall on Lauren’s birthday.

“This way, Lauren can continue being vocal about the illness, even when she’s not here.”

An estimated five million people are diagnosed with epilepsy each year, and between four and 10 people per 1,000 in the general population have active epilepsy according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The cause of around 50 per cent of epilepsy cases is unknown. Treatments include anti-seizure medications, brain surgery, dietary therapy and medicinal cannabis, but there is currently no known cure.