One person dead and three critically injured after truck smashes into three cars at start of South Eastern Freeway

IN a chilling prophecy of yesterday’s tragic Glen Osmond crash, deputy State Coroner Anthony Schapel predicted six months ago more would die at the foot of the South Eastern Freeway.

IN a chilling prophecy of yesterday’s tragic Glen Osmond crash, deputy State Coroner Anthony Schapel predicted six months ago more would die at the foot of the South Eastern Freeway.

One man was killed and three people are in a critical condition after a sewage truck careened into three cars parked at the lights of Cross Rd and Glen Osmond Rd at 1.15pm on Monday.

Those inside the cars had no chance to escape the carnage, and police said the truck driver was likely speeding down the freeway before making a fatal attempted left turn on to Cross Rd.

A Hallett Cove man, 56, died at the scene while the truck driver, a 28-year old Netley man, remained trapped inside the wreckage for almost two hours.

Two other drivers, an Ingle Farm woman, 41, and a Hahndorf woman, 49, were taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition.

Yesterday’s scene, reminiscent of a disaster zone, left many in shock as debris and effluent from the truck was cast across one of Adelaide’s busiest intersections.

Wreckage was scattered along the intersection with one car slammed into the once pristine water feature, one into a retaining wall and another down an embankment, far from their stationary positions seconds earlier.

It is not yet clear if the truck had brake problems.

SA Police and emergency services — including six ambulance crews, heavy rescue and several fire trucks — attended the scene, which created traffic chaos for several hours.

A crew wearing Hazmat gear had to clean away thousands of litres of effluent that spilled from the truck on to the road.

Just six months ago, Mr Schapel foreshadowed the crash when handing down preliminary findings into the death in October 2010 of John Posnakidis, 42.

Mr Posnakidis was hit by a truck while he was waiting at a bus stop at the bottom of the South-Eastern Freeway.

The truck driver, Victorian man Daniel Walsh, was given a five-month suspended prison term after pleading guilty to two aggravated counts of driving without due care.

There was “an air of inevitability” that in future another driver of a heavy vehicle travelling at uncontrolled speed would not use the arrester beds and “there will be a repeat of the kind of incident that occurred here, or worse”, Mr Schapel said in February.

Horror smash at the bottom of the freeway

Yesterday’s crash fulfilled that grim prophecy.

“He just came out of nowhere,” one woman, visibly shaken told emergency services personnel.

A man who drove through the scene of the crash moments after it happened described the scene as “horrific”.

“It was crazy ... this truck’s just slammed into about three or four cars. It must have been travelling pretty quick ... it’s horrific up there,” he said.

MFS Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Fletcher said it was one of the most complex crash scenes he had come across.

“It’s very distressing to look at. There’s four separate scenes with different crews working different vehicles,” he said.

Superintendent Bob Fauser confirmed the truck was travelling at considerable speed before smashing into the vehicles at the intersection.

“Unfortunately this is one of those locations on South Australian roads where we see these incidents far too often. We don’t yet know the cause of this but we certainly understand that it is a high-risk location.

“It’s very early in the investigation at this stage but it does appear that he’s attempted to execute a left hand turn on to Cross Rd and been unable to do so due to the speed the truck was travelling at and travelled straight across Cross Rd.”

Last night, a spokeswoman from Transpacific confirmed one of its trucks was involved in the crash.

“Our deepest sympathies and condolences are with the family and friends of the deceased,” she said.

Police ask anyone who witnessed the crash or has any information that may assist police with the investigation is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or here.

The crash is likely to reopen debate about arrester beds at the bottom of the freeway.

Earlier this year Burnside councillors lobbied the state and federal governments for an arrester bed.

That followed a high-speed truck rollover that killed driver James William Venning, 42. His death was the subject of a coroner’s inquest, which released this footage of the accident.