SE Freeway crash: 7 News’ Amelia Mulcahy says ‘I’ll never feel safe’

Channel 7 weather presenter Amelia Mulcahy talks of being just seconds away from the horror truck smash at the bottom of the freeway as heart-stopping video shows how it unfolded.

Channel 7 weather presenter Amelia Mulcahy says she will never again feel safe at the intersection at the bottom of the South Eastern Freeway following Sunday’s major crash.

Mulcahy was on her way to her parents’ property in the Adelaide Hills to collect her three-year-old daughter Grace when she arrived on the scene.

“As is often the case I was running late,” Mulcahy said. “I was heading up Cross Rd to get to the freeway and as I pulled into the right-hand turning lane I realised everyone was getting out of their cars. I looked over to where they were going and could see the huge wreck. It was unreal.”

It comes as vision shows the moment of impact, revealing how fast the truck was travelling as it sideswiped a bus before ploughing into six cars, Ms Stewart’s.

The crash has sparked calls to revisit a recently scrapped plan that would see heavy vehicles bypass the South Eastern Freeway in a bid to improve safety at the notorious intersection.

The crash happened on Sunday afternoon when a truck ploughed through the intersection at the bottom of the freeway crashing into multiple vehicles after failing to stop during its descent on the downtrack.

Nine people were hospitalised when the truck hit seven cars and a bus at the busy intersection, sparking calls from the RAA for a third arrester bed at the bottom of the intersection.

Mulcahy called triple-0 as she jumped out of her car. About a dozen people were helping the truck driver, and motorists in the cars that the truck had ploughed into, she said.

“There was even a gentleman who’d got out of his car and begun to direct traffic in the middle of the intersection,” she said.

“Emergency services were on the scene within a matter of minutes.”

Mulcahy said she believed she was “about three cars back from where those impacted were collected by the truck”.

“I spoke to a lovely woman in front of me who was still in shock at her sheer luck too, she had three kids in the back of her SUV,” she said.

“I’ve covered crashes in my time as a journo, but I hadn’t seen a crash scene like this up close that involved so many vehicles,

“It reminded me of that horrific crash in the same spot in 2014, except this time, in what you’d call nothing short of a miracle, everyone escaped serious injury. I’m still quite blown away by that fact,

“But I’d be lying if I told you I’ll be able to comfortably sit at that intersection and feel completely safe anytime soon, after seeing that.”

Channel 7 weather presenter Amelia Mulcahy was left shaken by the near-miss. Picture: Supplied

Meanwhile, one of the survivors of Sunday’s horrific freeway truck crash says it’s a “miracle” that no one died.

Urrbrae grandmother Barbara Stewart, 72, was behind the wheel of her Skoda when the out-of-control truck crashed into her at the Portrush and Glen Osmond roads intersection yesterday.

“I feel extremely lucky to be alive,” she told 7NEWS.

Her partner Warren said they were still in shock because the couple had been close to the 2014 intersection crash, which claimed the lives of two motorists.

“It was deja vu,” he said.

Barbara was pulled from the vehicle and said reliving the ordeal gave her “goosebumps, shivers, it makes you almost speechless”.

Warren said Barbara suffered “cuts on her head, hands and arm, side of face peppered with glass, I think we’re still in shock”.

Barbara Stewart somehow escaped serious injury when her car was hit by the truck. Picture: 7NEWS

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Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Supt Bob Gray said police were amazed that people in the crash escaped with only minor injuries.

He said the scene was “complex” as the truck landed on top of the cars and several people were trapped inside their cars.

“It is absolutely miraculous that nobody was killed or seriously injured. If you look at the scene it was a miracle,” he said.

One of the cars at the accident at the bottom of the South East Freeway. Picture: Keryn Stevens

He said police were still waiting to speak to the driver of the truck, a 60-year-old man from Queensland, who remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

“I would remind truck drivers to select the right gear, make sure you’re descending the freeway at no greater than 60km an hour from the Crafers exit point and please just be responsible,” Supt Gray said.

“People can lose their lives or get seriously injured and the penalties for those offences are very very significant.”

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, and Supt Gray did not rule out laying charges over the incident.

“We haven’t been able to speak to everybody we would like to at this point in time and it’s likely that there’ll be a further announcement reasonably soon in relation to the outcome of yesterday’s event,” he said.

Advocates in the Hills agreed an arrester bed is necessary but said it was a short term solution, and more investment should be made in reducing heavy vehicle traffic on the freeway.

Emergergency services on the scene at the crash at the bottom of the freeway. Picture: Keryn Stevens

The GlobeLink plan was announced in 2017 by the former Liberal government, but it was scrapped after report found it would be of minimum benefit.

The plan combined an airport, planned freeway connection and freight rail and was estimated to cost about $7bn, and aimed to minimise heavy vehicle traffic on the freeway.

Independent member of Kavel Dan Cregan, who represents residents in the Hills and surrounds, wrote to Premier Peter Malinauskas and Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis on Monday.

“Without further investment there is a real risk more people will lose their lives at this very dangerous intersection,” Mr Cregan said in a statement.

“I was gutted when the former minister abandoned the GlobeLink proposal.

“We need to be looking at completing an Adelaide Hills Freight bypass as well as a further arrester bed and changes to traffic management measures.”

In his letter, he said it was remarkable no one was killed in the crash on Sunday.

He urged the government to consider a round table discussion with the trucking industry to assess all options.

Emergency services at the scene of the truck smash. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Adelaide Hills mayor Jan-Claire Wisdom echoed the calls for more improvements.

“The main point of view at council … is to get more trucks off that freeway so they don’t have to come through that intersection and so they can give relief to Portrush, Glen Osmond and Cross Rd,” she told The Advertiser.

“That freeway is 20 years old now and let’s assume a five-year build and five years of planning, so the planning for that is now probably 30 years old, and the amount of traffic down there is quite different to what it was originally planned for.”

She also supported a third arrester bed but said more long-term plans need to be made.

SA Transport Action Group chair John Hill said this crash was a timely reminder to plan for the future.

Mr Hill said a more viable freight train route that passes through the Hills, as well as a passenger rail service and heavy freight bypass all need to be developed to deal with the growing hills population.

James Sexton, chair of Regional Development Australia in the Adelaide Hills said the GlobeLink plan should be revisited.

“They need to put a bit more effort into getting as many trucks off the freeway as possible, and the old GlobeLink idea of shifting them off at Monarto South and putting them out north through there, that really needs to be looked at seriously,” Mr Sexton said.

The Motor Trade Association’s chief executive officer Paul Unerkov said the government should work with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator to improve vehicle maintenance requirements and driver education.

“It is an ongoing frustration of our members that they have no power to stop heavy vehicles from leaving their business when they are in no way roadworthy,” he said.

The state’s Road Transport Association executive officer Steve Shearer said most freeway incidents involved interstate truckies on their first trip.

“The reason it’s important is that there are only a couple of descents in the country, about three altogether, including the SE Freeway where it’s such a long continuous descent,” he said.

“Normally, if you’re going down hills, you’re going to go up another hill. And so the issue is for a driver who gets it wrong is that there’s no real relief. Gravity’s got you for the next 8km. And it can it can surprise a new driver who’s not aware of it.’’

The Premier said he was holding discussions with the Department of Transport on Monday morning about whether a third arrester bed could be built.