Greek Australian chief superintendent Ioanna Panayiotou (Joanne Shanahan), has been killed in a horrific high-speed crash that also claimed the life of another woman.
The 55-year-old top-ranking police officer was involved in a three-car collision at the intersection of Cross Rd and Fullerton Rd in Urrbrae, just after 1.30pm on Saturday.
Chief superintendent Shanahan (nee Panayiotou), who has also served as acting assistant commissioner, was the passenger in a Holden SUV driven by her husband Peter Shanahan who sustained minor injuries.
The other casualty, a woman aged 53 from St Peters, was the sole occupant of a Silber BMW.
A 20-year-old male from Urrbrae was behind the wheel of the third vehicle involved in the crash, a Volkswagen ute, which according to witnesses came hurtling down Cross Road at high speed.
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Ms Shanahan, mother of two, was born in Adelaide. Her father, Nick Panayiotou had migrated to Australia from a village in Rhodes island called Lachania.
“She was just the best person, always giving us a reason to feel proud; and now this tragedy… we cannot believe it happened it is just inconceivable,” a close family member says.
Read the full statement issued by SA Police
Last night SAPOL lost one of its finest and most senior female police officers. Detective Chief Superintendent Joanne Shanahan was one of the two women sadly killed in a horrific crash at Urrbrae.
Joanne was a passenger in a Holden SUV, driven by her husband Peter at the time of the crash, who is also a retired police detective and is currently the General Counsel for SAPOL in a senior legal leadership role. Thankfully Peter escaped serious injuries and has been released from hospital.
Joanne is survived by Peter and her two adult children.
Joanne joined SAPOL in 1981 and was a highly respected member of SAPOL. In 2002 she was promoted to the rank of Inspector and worked in many areas of SAPOL from CIB, specialist crime areas and Domestic Violence. In 2013 she was integral to the development of the Multi Agency Protection Service (MAPS), leading the cross-government project team from concept stage to implementation in 2014 when she was appointed as the inaugural Officer in Charge of the Family and Domestic Violence Branch. She was also well known in the local Greek community.
Joanne’s most recent role was a significant one where she played a leadership role in the Police Operation Centre for SAPOL’s response to the COVID-19 virus situation.
Not only have we lost a beautiful person but also an officer with a wealth of knowledge – Detective Chief Superintendent Joanne Shanahan leaves an overwhelming footprint on SAPOL having received the Australian Police Medal in 2019 for her outstanding service to the organisation and to the community of South Australia.