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SW man's death prompts driving tired warning

A road marker was struck during a fatal truck crash on South Western Highway on Monday morning.

The tragic death of a 19-year-old delivery driver has prompted a renewed call from police to be careful when driving long distances.

Police believe fatigue could have been a factor in the death of Kamalpreet Singh, who crashed in a small truck on South Western Highway at 2.30am on Monday.

Mr Singh, an Indian national who had lived in Australia for about 18 months on a student visa, was delivering fruit and vegetables in the South West and had been driving for about two hours before the crash, near Brunswick.

Sen. Const. Rob Malcolm, of South West Traffic, said he would investigate if fatigue was a factor in the crash.

He said this was based on evidence the truck veered "gently" to the left-hand-side of the road before it hit a tree.

"We don't want to rule anything in or out at this stage," Sen. Const. Malcolm said.

South West Traffic has previously raised awareness that fatigue is one of the "fatal five" causes of traffic crashes.

Traffic coordinator Sgt Dave Hurdle said generally "a moment's inattention" could be fatal.

He said for the next two weeks police would target heavy vehicles in Operation Austrans as part of a national transport safety campaign.

Mr Singh was working two days a week for a sub-contractor of Osborne Park-based company Freshcorp Farms.

Freshcorp general manager Duc Hua said the employees at the company were "gutted" and "felt sick" when they heard the news on Monday morning.

Mr Hua said he would meet with the sub-contractor to demand changes be made.

He said he would question whether it was appropriate for a 19-year-old man to be driving on long trips.

"From there we will come up with a new plan for the future," Mr Hua said.

"Because, believe me, we don't want this to happen again."

Mr Singh's family live in India and they want his body returned to his home country for a burial, Mr Hua said.

A Worksafe spokeswoman said it would await a police report before deciding if it would investigate.