Woman and unborn child die in horror crash
A woman and her unborn child have died after a horror car crash on a suburban backstreet.
The 23-year-old woman was a passenger in the vehicle when it slammed into a stobie pole on Radstock Rd in Woodville Park in Adelaide’s inner northwest at about 7am.
She was trapped in the vehicle for an hour before she was cut free by emergency services and taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition.
Both her and her unborn child later died in hospital.
The driver of the vehicle allegedly fled the scene and was later found in the yard of a property nearby not wearing any clothes.
The 31-year-old Woodville Park man has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, leaving the scene of an accident and driving unlicensed.
Earlier today, Superintendent Howard Davies said police would allege speed was a contributing factor to the crash.
“It is my understanding that the driver has run from the scene and he has been located a short distance away,” he said.
“When he was located by police, for some unknown reason, the person wasn’t wearing any clothes, so obviously there are some very unusual circumstances here.
“There has been no explanation given to us by the driver as to what occurred or how the crash occurred, obviously we are in the very early stages of our investigation, but we will look and see whether alcohol and drugs are part of the reasons why the crash occurred.”
Simon Walter from the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) said the severity of the crash is not something he would expect to see in a small backstreet of a local residential area.
“This is quite extensive damage to the vehicle and injury to the occupant, normally you wouldn’t see this sort of collision in low speed area,” he said.
Police have asked anyone who witnessed the crash to contact Crime Stoppers.
A witness to the crash told 7News he saw the car begin ‘fishtailing’ before crashing through some bins and into the stobie pole.
“We heard them coming past our house travelling what seemed to relatively fast, heard the screaming of the engine, then just an almighty thud,” he said.
