Roger Kirwan, owner of Kirwan Print Group is back in Australia and recovering, after a close shave with death, when a ute crashed into a café he was visiting, killing one of his two friends he was sharing a coffee with.

Kirwan says, “I am still on the mend and was cleared to fly at the weekend, so I have finally made it back in Australia.

“I am easing my way back to work now. It will take a few weeks to get back to 100 per cent.”

Kirwan was drinking coffee at a Starbucks in Salt Lake City, when the vehicle crashed into the outside table where he was sitting with two of his friends, one of whom was killed instantly.

Five other people were seriously injured, with Kirwan himself hospitalised after sustaining several fractures in the incident.

[Related: Kirwan cheats death by inches]

Kirwan’s coffee companion who died in the accident was 48-year-old Salt Lake City resident Joslyn Spilsbury, a mental health specialist. The 34-year-old ute driver West Walker survived, as did his two children aged six and seven who were in the cab with him. Police suspected Walker suffered a medical emergency at the time of the crash, but it has not yet been confirmed.

Kirwan had stopped en route to a print conference in Florida.

Kirwan says, “I want to give my personal thanks to everyone in the industry for their concern. The team here were completely inundated with best wishes from so many people in the industry here, whilst I was in hospital and stuck in the USA, which lifted my spirits and I appreciated it.”

Kirwan founded the Kirwan Print Group, which operates out of Brookvale NSW, and includes trade-only label printer Foxcil Labels.

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