Fatal vehicle crash and fire at Ngapala

A 63-year-old motorist has become the 19th life lost on South Australian roads in 2023 after hitting a tree in the state’s Mid North.

An Adelaide man has died in a horror single vehicle crash in the state’s Mid North.

Around 7pm on Sunday emergency services were called to Ngapala Rd, west of Robertstown

at Ngapala to reports of a crash and fire. It was later confirmed the Toyota Prado crashed into a tree.

The driver and sole occupant of the car, a 63-year-old man from Elizabeth North, died at the scene.

Ngapala Rd was closed for several hours but has since been reopened to traffic. Major Crash Officers are investigating the incident.

The man’s death is the 19th life lost on South Australian roads compared to six at the same time last year.

If follows another fatal crash on the weekend.

A Mount Gambier man, 49, died on Friday night when the truck he was driving left the road and crashed into a tree, just after 10pm along the Riddoch Highway, in Penola.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday announcing new police powers to target drug drivers, Police Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott said the state had recorded the worst start to the state’s road toll in a decade.