Father of Brisbane Broncos NRL star Payne Haas slams criticism of horror crash involving partner

The father of NRL superstar Payne Haas has slammed footy fans for ‘hammering’ the family on social media after partner Joan was jailed following a horrific crash on the Gold Coast that left three people dead.

Susan Zimmer, 70, her partner Chris Fawcett, 79, and her daughter Steffanie Zimmer, 35 tragically died following the high-speed smash at Bonogin, near the Haas family home on December 30 last year.

Uiatu ‘Joan’ Taufua was jailed and has been charged with three counts of manslaughter, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, evading police, drink driving and driving without a drivers licence. 

And her long-term partner Gregor Haas – the 23-year-old Broncos star’s father – said the siutation is ‘just f***ed’, and slammed how much criticism he and the tight-knit family have copped online in the wake of the incident. 

‘People can be so critical these days. Social media is awful, they just hammer us on there,’ he told News Corp. 

Gregor Hass (right, pictured with son Payne at the 2019 Dally M awards) has slammed criticism from fans online in the wake of the fiery crash involving partner Joan that left three innocent people dead

Uiatu ‘Joan’ Taufua (pictured after facing court in 2019) is in jail and facing multiple charges for her role in a crash that killed three people on the Gold Coast on December 30

Haas has been brilliant for the Broncos to start the season, but it has certainly been a tough time for he and the family off the field

Taufua remains in the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre west of Brisbane, and suffered extensive injuries herself in the fiery collision – and Gregor said the family now ‘have nothing to do with anyone really’ since, and have gone into a ‘shell’.

‘I get to see Joan once a week … I never expected any of this. Life takes you on a journey you don’t expect,’ he said of visiting the women’s jail in Gatton, 90km west of Brisbane – a 330km round-trip for him.

‘Joan did so much day-to-day and I’m coping the best I can. I’m still trying to figure things out every day.’ 

Of course the other face of the tragedy is the Zimmer and Fawcett families, who have said the crash has ‘destroyed their lives’. 

That one of the NRL’s best players is the mother of the person charged over the crash is irrelevant to them. 

Steffanie Zimmer leaves behind a husband (Graham) and three children, while mother Susan (survived by another daughter, Claudine Snow) and long-term partner Fawcett, a retired doctor, died, devastating the tight-night community on the Gold Coast hinterland.

Snow said at an emotional ceremony to farewell the trio in January that the busy holiday period, historically the worst time of the year when it comes to road safety, had already spooked her.

The daughter of Zimmer, Claudine Snow, broke down in January at an emotional funeral to farewell her three family members that tragically died

Susan Zimmer, 70, and her daughter Steffanie, 35, (together above) were killed after Taufua allegedly collided with their silver Mercedes

Retired doctor Chris Fawcett, 79, (above, the partner of Susan Zimmer) was also killed during the car crash

‘The last thing (mum) said to me in a voicemail was she was worried about driving at this time of the year,’ she revealed at the funeral.

‘I wish she had have just listened to her gut feeling and didn’t go out.’

Gregor said the Haas family are also grieving at their ‘loss’ of Taufua as she awaits sentencing.

‘I’m going through all sorts of emotions. You go through a period of grieving,’ he said.

Gregor and Taufua had ten children (though quadriplegic son Chace died three years ago), and also have two adopted sons, aged 20 and 19.

The family patriarch is now looking after six of their nine school-aged children by himself, with the older and adoptive children standing up to be quasi-parents to the younger kids. 

While acknowledging there were things he couldn’t reveal as the case is still before the courts, Gregor said his partner is ‘not good emotionally’. 

Uiatu ‘Joan’ Taufua, centre, is ‘not good emotionally’ in the wake of the crash, her partner Gregor (right) says

Taufua was also left injured after the crash, recovering in hospital before being transferred to jail

‘She (Taufua) has a metal plate in her chest. She damaged her back. Her tailbone. Both shoulders were stuffed. She is still recovering now in jail,’ he said.

‘I don’t know if they do rehab in jail. She is trying to rehabilitate herself.’

Haas himself has also talked about , though for the most part he has preferred to let his performances do the talking on the footy field. 

‘I won’t lie and say it’s been easy. It’s been really tough. I’m lucky I’ve got a good support network around me, I’ve got my partner [Leilani] and daughter [Lalita],’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald last month. 

‘I’m [also] close with mum – I’m a mummy’s boy.’ 

Of course the horrific crash was not the first time either Haas or his mother has been in trouble with the law. 

The Broncos superstar has had his own share of troubles with the law over his career

Haas is facing a week on the sidelines after being charged for a hip drop tackle during his side’s win over Parramatta on Friday (pictured)

Two years ago the Broncos prop was fined $50,000 by the NRL and suspended for three matches after being arrested for intimidating police and pleading guilty. 

He told a female officer that ’cause you’re a woman you think I won’t touch ya’ during an expletive riddled rants while at Tweed Heads with his then-pregnant partner. No conviction was recorded and Haas was given a two-year good behaviour bond. 

Haas was suspended for four matches and fined $20,000 in 2019 after refusing to cooperate with officials over an off-field incident at a junior game involving his family members; while the club was also left hugely disappointed for getting into a drunken fight at a Brisbane pub with teammate Albert Kelly last season. 

The prop also faced court in 2018, pleading guilty to two driving offences of allegedly driving when unlicensed and using a mobile phone. 

Gregor said despite that, his son ‘knows how to separate things emotionally’, which he was also forced to do when Taufua was jailed last year after pleading guilty to assaulting two security guards at the Star Casino on the Gold Coast.

After a brilliant start to the year which has seen him lead the Dally M Medal tally, Haas is facing a week on the sidelines after being charged with a hip drop tackle in the Bronco’s big win over the Eels on Friday night in Darwin.