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Probe call over fatal fog crash

Deadly crash: The aftermath of the crash on the Kwinana Freeway. Picture: Seven News

The death of two men in a freeway crash linked to heavy fog has sparked calls for an investigation into why several earlier warnings about the danger were apparently ignored by police.

The crash claimed the life of 62-year-old Bentley man Enver Aysa, who had just celebrated the birth of his first grandchild.

He was a passenger in a Toyota van that had come to a halt because of poor visibility, only to be hit from behind by a semitrailer.

The crash happened in the southbound lanes near the Thomas Street exit about 4.40am.

The driver of the semitrailer, 58-year-old Ronald Maxwell Carter, also died from his injuries.

A combination of smoke from a bushfire and fog is believed to have caused visibility in the area to drop to just a few metres.

Police have admitted they received several calls from the public before the crash happened but refused to offer any explanation yesterday as to why no action was taken to close the freeway or erect warning signs.

Blake Harrison, 25, told Seven News that he was in a taxi heading home to Baldivis about 2am when the driver had to pull over because he could not see more than a metre in front of him.

"Cars were just braking everywhere and (you) could not see in front of the bonnet," he said.

Mr Harrison said he was so concerned about the danger to motorists that he rang triple-0.

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A Main Roads spokesman claimed it was not alerted by police for almost another two hours.

The first call came at 3.54am and a warning was sent to radio stations for immediate broadcast six minutes later.

Main Roads also dispatched a crew at 4.12am to assess the danger but that crew did not arrive on site until about 5am, 20 minutes after the crash occurred.

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said a full investigation was needed to find out why action was not taken sooner to protect the public.

"I think we need to get to the bottom of it, and I think we need to have expert evidence as soon as possible as to whether or not other actions could have been taken by the State," he said.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan had not been briefed on the incident yesterday, but agreed questions needed to be asked about what was done and when.

But Mr O'Callaghan said the public also had a responsibility to slow down and drive to the conditions when confronted with hazards such as smoke or fog on the roads.