One of the miracle survivors of a deadly jumping castle tragedy in Tasmania has died on on New Year’s Eve after his e-bike collided with a pole.
Lucas Reid, 15, was killed when his e-bike collided with a pole in Devonport, in the state’s north west, at about 7.30pm on December 31, 2025.
Tasmanian Police said the investigation is ongoing, but early indications suggest the e-bike collided with a telephone pole on the rural road.
He died at the scene despite receiving help from a nearby resident, police said.
Lucas had narrowly avoided death four years earlier when he sustained serious injuries in the Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle tragedy.
Six children died when the inflatable castle was lifted 10m into the air by a gust of wind, at Hillcrest Primary School on December 16, 2021.
Hillcrest students Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt, who were in grades five and six, sadly died.
Lucas’s death is amid ongoing legal battles over the safety of the jumping castle.
Lucas Reid, 15, was killed when his e-bike collided with a pole about 7.30pm on New Year’s Eve
Lucas had survived the Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle tragedy four years earlier in Tasmania
The boy met his favourite AFL player, Giants captain Toby Greene, at a fundraiser months after the deadly incident.
Greene said on Sunday Lucas’s death was heartbreaking.
‘It is tragic news. Lucas was such a great young man and had overcome so much,’ Greene told The Mercury.
‘His resilience and optimism really stood out.
‘We met many years ago, enjoyed staying in touch and the boys all loved seeing him at games. The GIANTS family extend our deepest sympathy to the Reid family and friends.’
Lucas spent weeks in hospital and needed to use a wheelchair after falling from the Taz-Zorb inflatable which was set up as part of an end-of-year celebration.
The owner of the operator that supplied the jumping castle, Rosemary Gamble, was found not guilty of breaching Tasmania’s health and safety act in June last year.
This was despite the fact that only four pegs were used to tie down the inflatable which was flung across the school oval by a ‘mini tornado’, the Tasmanian Magistrates Court heard was told.
A coronial inquest into the Hillcrest tragedy was due to have a hearing in April and a memorial will soon be established 4km away from the school.