'Extreme dude' dies in wheelie bin tragedy

To his mates, John Peake was an "extreme dude" who loved a cold beer and a good laugh. He lived life to the limits and enjoyed surfing or skateboarding whenever he had the chance. So when seven mates lined two wheelie bins up at the top of a steep Umina Beach hill at about 3am yesterday, Peake, 22, was among them.

"He was laughing the whole way down," friend David Gorrel, 21, said. "Our mate, he died laughing." Peake, of Umina, Australia, died when he hit a gutter and slammed headfirst into a tree while riding the wheelie bin 300m down Lone Pine Ave.



The quiet street is popular with youngsters who test their courage by riding bicycles, scooters or wheelie bins down the steep gradient. Police said Peake, who worked as a driller, was lying flat on the wheelie bin. His friend Sean Gale, 19, also of Umina, was lying on top of him.

Another young man, who rode a second bin alone, survived the steep descent, only realising his mates had crashed when he reached the bottom of the hill without them. Peake's friends tried desperately to revive him at the scene. He was pronounced dead a short time later at Gosford Hospital. Gale suffered broken ribs and other internal injuries.