Truckies’ anger before fatal crash at Victorian border near Bordertown checkpoint, as people in the queue reveal ‘chaos’
The state’s top cop has announced a high-level inquiry into border checkpoints after a truck driver died crashing into a queue of vehicles waiting to get into SA. Picture: 9 News
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South Australia’s top cop has ordered a major inquiry into border checkpoint operations after a truck driver died in a fiery crash witnesses described as a “bottleneck disaster waiting to happen”.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens revealed five officers were stationed at the Victorian border, where hundreds of vehicles and trucks lined up to enter SA on Wednesday hours after a snap closure announcement.
It also emerged 12 police officers are monitoring a suburban house where French Naval Group chief executive Pierre-Eric Pommellet has been granted national security exemption to quarantine.
Mr Stevens said it was too early to speculate whether adequate resources were deployed at checkpoints on Wednesday night, when the border was closed to greater Melbourne from midnight.
But the SA and Victorian transport associations have blamed the State Government for the truck driver’s death, describing the border closure as a “knee-jerk” reaction.
Mr Stevens has launched a Commissioner’s inquiry – the highest level of investigation – to examine how it was managing border checkpoints.
He said a traffic expert and senior police officer were assessing whether the current operation was appropriate.
“We had a group of five people on duty during the dayshift period and during the evening period we scaled back to three,” Mr Stevens said.
“There were relatively low levels of activity up to about 9.30pm and when it was identified that a build-up was occurring, a further two police officers were deployed to assist in processing people.”
Mr Stevens said SA Police was managing traffic signage in Victoria, where the crash involving three trucks unfolded at a border checkpoint on Western Highway, Serviceton, about 2.20am Thursday.
An SA truck driver, 46, died after he crashed into the back of a stationary truck waiting in the queue, creating a chain reaction resulting in all three trucks erupting in flames.
The other two truck drivers are at Bordertown Hospital in a stable condition as of Thursday night. The Dukes Highway remains closed in both directions and SA motorists heading to Victoria are being diverted south towards Naracoorte.
“Any loss of life on our roads is a tragedy,” Mr Stevens said. “It affects so many people.
“This truck driver’s family is now grieving, the people he works with, his friends, his colleagues. It’s incredibly sad that someone’s lost their life in these circumstances and I don’t know there’s much more you can say about that.”
Peter Eckert and his partner, Kes, joined the queue on the highway at Bordertown about 10.30pm on Wednesday.
Mr Eckert said there were no signs or any warning to alert them they were approaching a stop about 1.5km from the border. “The queue was so long and they were so understaffed,” Mr Eckert said.
Mr Eckert, of Mannum, said many truck drivers might not have been aware of a sudden stop on the highway.
“It’s very upsetting when you’re just sitting on a highway … it’s dark, and there’s no signage,” he said. “It’s very distressing. It was a bottleneck of disaster waiting to happen.”
Transport Workers Union SA/NT branch secretary Ian Smith said: “Hard-border closures need to be implemented properly and the Marshall Government’s knee-jerk response shows a lack of understanding of the industry.”
Mr Stevens confirmed 12 officers were keeping guard at the house, where Mr Pommellet was quarantining.
“We’re managing our resources and reprioritising the sorts of activities that we are required to undertake,” he said. Premier Steven Marshall said SA Health granted Mr Pommellet’s exemption and reaffirmed “this is not a process run by politicians”.
Mr Marshall – who is due to meet Mr Pommellet upon the completion of his quarantine period – said he expected Naval Group, which is building the nation’s new submarine fleet, would foot the bill and “we don’t want taxpayers to pay unnecessary costs”.
He said authorities were aware of the uncertainty and inconvenience caused by border closures. “Our primary concern as a state is to keep our state safe and our economy strong,” said Mr Marshall, who also offered his condolences to the truck driver’s family. He said travellers from NSW and Western Australia would no longer need to undergo mandatory coronavirus tests from midnight on Saturday.
Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said she hoped border restrictions could be eased within a fortnight but this would not become clear until early next week.
SA has five active cases after a man in his 30s who returned from overseas tested positive. He is in a medi-hotel.
The Victorian cluster grew to 11 on Thursday as authorities declared the outbreak was likely linked to the UK strain.
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