Head-on crash kills two more
Les Kennedy
April 9, 2007
The NSW Easter road toll has climbed to eight deaths, with a man and woman killed in a head-on collision this afternoon on the New England Highway near Uralla. There are unconfirmed reports of a third person dying in a motor vehicle accident near Cooma in the Snowy Mountains this afternoon. Rescue teams are still trying to free people from the wreckage.
Police said the latest deaths occurred in a collision at 3pm on the New England Highway, 30 kilometres south of Uralla. A police spokeswoman said a woman passenger in one vehicle and the driver of the car it collided with were both killed. The highway was blocked in both directions and was expected to remain closed until at least 7pm (AEST).
About the same time ambulance and emergency rescue teams rushed to a bad accident at Nimitabel near Cooma. Last year nine people died on NSW roads during the Easter long weekend road safety period.
The latest two deaths take the national toll for the Easter holiday period to 24 - six dying so far today.
A cyclist suffered critical head and possible spinal injuries in a crash with a car north-west of Sydney today. The 58-year-old man landed in a paddock off the main road when his cycle and a car collided on
Singleton Road in Wilberforce about 1.40pm (AEST).
A CareFlight rescue helicopter spokesman said the man also suffered a fractured right leg. He was given a general anaesthetic and placed on a ventilator before being flown to Nepean Hospital for emergency neurosurgery. A hospital spokesperson said he was in a critical but stable condition this afternoon
An ambulance spokeswoman said the cyclist reportedly was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
As thousands of holidaymakers make their way home, police are again urgining motorists to drive with care and take rest breaks. Among the deaths today was a teenage boy who died in hospital this afternoon, a day after his motorcycle collided with a parked van on the Gold Coast.
In the early hours of this morning three defence personnel involved in counter-terrorism training died when their rental car ran off a bridge into the sea south-west of Melbourne at Queenscliff.
Victoria leads the toll count with nine deaths, eight people have died in NSW, four people in Queesnaldn, two in Western Australia and one person in the ACT.
Source: © 2007 The Sydney Morning Herald
