Archive, Industry News

Horror F3 crash: truckie ‘did what he could’

UPDATED: B-double slams into two stationary cars on the F3, incinerating family of three

August 28, 2009

A B-double has slammed into two stationary cars on the F3 south of Gosford, incinerating a family of three.

The incident involving a Towers Transport truck occurred at the Mount White weighbridge about 10:50pm last night.

Gosford police now say two cars had stopped in the far left of three lanes, next to the emergency lane, when the truck slammed into the rear of the Mitsubishi Pajero.

Both the truck and car caught fire, incinerating a 27-year-old woman, a 32-year-old man and a five-month-old child.

The driver of the second car has been taken to hospital but his condition is unknown, The Daily Telegraph reports.

“For some reason the two vehicles have become stationary in lane one, northbound, they’re not in the breakdown lane, they’re actually still in the traffic lane,” Metropolitan Crash Investigator Sergeant Peker Jenkins told Macquarie Radio.

“The young family’s car is the southern vehicle, another northbound car has braked and stopped and swerved to miss it and entered into the breakdown lane.

“Since that’s happened the truck driver’s been exposed to these two vehicles and he’s done what he can, but he hasn’t been able to avoid these two vehicles.”

A spokeswoman for NSW Police says the truck driver was taken to Gosford Hospital suffering from shock and other injuries. He has since been released after speaking to police.

Northbound lanes on the F3 were closed until midday but have now reopened with a restricted 80km/h speed limit.

Police are calling for help from witnesses to determine the cause of the crash, which the spokeswoman says will be the subject of a coronial inquest. Anyone who witnessed the incident can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Meanwhile, another incident this morning has closed the Newell Highway in both directions. Three people have died in the multi-vehicle accident 5km south of Narrabri.

Previous ArticleNext Article
Send this to a friend