Children, grandparents, killed in shocking crash near Crystal Brook

UPDATE: Two children and their grandparents, all from Adelaide, have died in a shocking crash between a station wagon and a truck on the Augusta Hwy.

17/04/16 - Scene of a fatal accident, car and truck on Augusta Highway at Crystal Brook. Photo Tom Huntley

TWO young children and their grandparents, all from Adelaide, have died in a shocking head-on crash between a station wagon and a truck on the Augusta Hwy on Sunday.

Police say just before 12.30pm on Sunday, a northbound Subaru station wagon towing a caravan collided with a southbound truck towing a car trailer, about 2km south of Crystal Brook.

Scene of an accident on Augusta Hwy near Crystal Brook, in which four people have died. Picture: Tom Huntley

Two girls, aged five and 10, from Daw Park, and their grandparents, a 70-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman from Colonel Light Gardens, died at the scene.

The driver of the truck, a 52-year-old man from Wingfield, was trapped and suffered head and leg injuries.

He was flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for treatment and he remains in a critical condition.

Three passengers, — two 42-year-old women, one from Wingfield and another from Largs North, and a 50-year-old man from Ingle Farm — were taken to Port Pirie Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Four people - two grandparents and two children - have died in head-on crash near Crystal Brook @theTiser pic.twitter.com/OD6TG4YabK

— Meagan Dillon (@MeaganDillon7) April 17, 2016

Scene of an accident on Augusta Hwy near Crystal Brook, in which four people have died. Picture: Tom Huntley

Superintendent Alby Quin, acting officer in charge of the Yorke-Mid North LSA, urged drivers to be careful as families head away for holidays and the Anzac Day long weekend.

“There’s been a family that has been impacted today which will take a long time for them to get over,” he said.

“We urge everyone to think about the impact and be considerate on the roads. Think about fatigue, speed and drink driving.

Truck driver Neville Mugridge was one of the first people to come across the crash and described it as a sad scene.

He said a woman was on her phone, clearly distraught, and asked him to use his truck’s radio to let other drivers know the road was closed.

“A man asked me to go up and have a look at the truck to see if there was any dangerous goods on it,” he said.

“I went up there to look — it didn’t have any dangerous goods.

“I looked inside (the car) to see what was going on. The car was more or less underneath the truck. I saw the young girl in there, I couldn’t watch it.

“It’s one of those things — it’s so sad to see, especially at the start of school holidays. I’ve got grand kids that are the same age.”

Major Crash Investigators are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash, the Augusta Highway was closed for some time before being reopened at 11pm last night.

Also on the weekend, an elderly woman who was involved in a crash at Barmera on April 12 died in hospital.

The 82-year-old Riverland woman was driving a Holden sedan on the Sturt Hwy which veered off the road and into a Stobie pole.

She was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where she died on Saturday.

A police spokesman said Major Crash Investigators were examining the circumstances surrounding the incident, which may have been caused by a medical episode.

The State’s road toll now stands at 29 compared to 24 at the same time last year.

In the 12 months to the end of March 102 people died on SA roads.

A map showing Crystal Brook, which is about 200km north of Adelaide.