'Absolute tragedy': Horror spike in fatal car accidents as state lifts restrictions
Three people have died and another three have been critically injured in what has been a horror weekend on roads in NSW, just days after the state embraced a rollback of coronavirus rules.
One victim was a 45-year-old man who died on Saturday evening after his ute crashed into a tree in Port Macquarie, on the Mid North Coast, police said.
Another man aged 25 was killed after his car collided with another car on the Hume Highway in Campbelltown, in Sydney’s southwest, at about 11.30pm on Saturday.
His 26-year-old passenger survived and was taken to hospital in a stable condition, police said.
The driver of the other car, a 27-year-old woman, suffered a suspected broken arm and was taken to hospital for treatment and mandatory testing.
In a third crash, a 29-year-old woman died after her car rolled on the Silver City Highway, Anabranch, about 110km north of Wentworth, on Saturday at 1.30pm.
Miraculously, two baby capsules – containing two 15-month-old babies – were located secured in the rear of the car, while the woman’s body was located nearby.
The children were uninjured and cared for by witnesses until emergency services arrived at the scene.
A 29-year-old woman and two girls, aged ten and four, were critically injured in a fourth incident, involving another vehicle in the state’s Riverina region just after 3pm on Saturday.
The woman and children were airlifted to hospital after being briefly trapped inside the vehicle, while an uninjured truck driver, a 58-year-old man, was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
The fatalities took the state’s road death toll to 121, in just the first 137 days of the year, Chief Inspector Phil Brooks announced on Sunday.
Mr Brooks said the news the families of the victims woke up to Sunday morning could only be described as an “absolute tragedy”.
“Certainly with extra vehicles now that are travelling around the NSW road network after recent restrictions have been eased, this is a very clear indicator of what the risks are on our roads,” he said.
“More vehicles on our roads leads to more risk, and it’s those people taking risks on our roads...who are putting other road users at risk.”
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The likely causes of the fatalities were speed, fatigue, drink or drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt or proper helmet, or distraction, Mr Brooks said.
He added the impact of the “avoidable” crashes would have a significant impact on not only the loved ones of the victims, but also on the first responders.
“Clearly this is a case of poor driver behaviour,” he said.
As part of the prime minister’s announcement of the first stage of easing coronavirus restrictions, NSW residents are now allowed to travel regionally and attend social gatherings of up to 10 people.
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