Single car towing trailer involved in serious crash near Marla

A nasty crash has resulted in the closure of Stuart Highway in the state’s northwest – as SA’s top cop admits police do not know what to do about the rising road toll.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens says police don’t know what more to do to stop the road toll rising. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Emergency services have gone to a serious smash in the APY Lands, as SA’s Police Commissioner admits they are clueless when it comes to stopping road crashes.

Police and emergency services were called to Stuart Highway, about 32km north of Marla, at around 5am after reports a car towing a trailer had rolled.

Stuart Highway is closed in both directions in the area while emergency services attend the scene.

The state’s top cop on Wednesday was forced to confront the record number of road fatalities on the state’s roads.

“We’re not sure what we do next,” Grant Stevens told FIVEaa radio.

“We’re out there, we’re educating people, we’re enforcing the road rules, we’re warning people, we’re doing drug testing, alcohol testing – yes it is the same as last year when we had a record low road toll but we’re seeing a different outcome.

“I’m not sure what the answer is – we’ll continue doing what we’re doing, we’re just hopeful that people start to hear the message, but having said that … most people do.”

His concerns come after South Australia this year surpassed the number of total fatalities in 2022 by only August.

Currently 74 lives have been lost on our roads compared to 46 at the same time last year.

“When you look at the total number of kilometres travelled, the number of vehicles on the our roads, statically the number of fatalities is relatively low in that context but every life lost is devastating to so many people,” the Commissioner told FIVEaa.

“The vast majority of people area doing the right thing when they’re on the road.

“I’ve said before it’s that time you make a bad decision or it’s that lapse of concentration or it’s that complacency that results in potentially serious consequences.”

Mr Stevens said police have not noticed a single contributing factor to the rising number.

“Sometimes you’ll have a fatal collision that you can find several identified contributing factors, alcohol, speed, no seatbelt, fatigue is a big issue in regional locations, inattention – they’re all contributing factors,” he said.

“This is why that level of vigilance is necessary on part of all of us when you’re driving, it is the bad decisions that result in serious injury crashes or fatal crashes.”

The crash scene at Senior, near Bordertown South Australia. Picture Dylan Hogarth

The crash scene at Senior, near Bordertown South Australia. Picture Dylan Hogarth

This comes after a teenager died in a the state’s southeast following a horror crash on August 8.

At around 6.45pm police rushed to Senior Rd, almost 17km from Bordertown after reports a vehicle was involved in a single crash rollover.

The 17-year-old driver died at the scene.