Cambodia's high profile NGO community is in mourning following the death of prominent Australian aid worker Laura Knight, who was killed in a car accident which also claimed the lives of three others and left another 10 people injured.
Knight, from Melbourne, worked for Save the Children Cambodia, in particular the group's Family Care First (FCF) program, since arriving in the nation in November 2015.
She was traveling in a mini-van on Friday when it hit a mango tree in southwest Takeo province.
"It is with great sadness that Save the Children can confirm that four of our staff members lost their lives in a tragic road traffic accident that took place in Cambodia on Friday afternoon," Save the Children CEO Helle Thorning Schmidt said in a statement.
Knight also studied at RMIT and previously worked for child protection organisation Friends International, which receives support from the the Australian government, specialising in child protection, vocational training, migration and environmental management.
According to Fresh News, the driver hit a mango tree. It quoted Sok Samnang of the Takeo Provincial Police as saying the driver escaped injury, but he confirmed one Australian woman was killed while the survivors were taken to hospital.
"This is a truly heart-breaking event and our condolences go out to the families of all those who have been affected," Ms Schmidt said.
Knight had already expressed her fears about travelling on Cambodia's notorious roads, dedicating an entire blog - A Knight in Cambodia - to the problems she had encountered on the roads.
"One of the biggest challenges I have found living in Cambodia is the traffic, which is crazy. I have got more used to it now but it can still be a bit scary," she wrote.
She said the rules in Cambodia were more like suggestions and even those suggestions were rarely followed.
"For me it shows that laws are not enough to change behaviour, you really need to have good education and effective incentives (positive and negative) to get people to act differently."
