Six cars and cyclist hit as truck loses control at bottom of freeway – but no one killed, no serious injuries
Police say it is extremely lucky no one was seriously injured in this major crash at the bottom of the freeway, one of Adelaide’s busiest intersections.
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A cyclist and several motorists have escaped serious injury after a truck lost its brakes and ploughed into one of Adelaide’s busiest intersections.
Emergency services were called to the Toll Gate intersection at Glen Osmond just after 6.30pm amid reports of a multiple car crash.
Despite scenes of carnage, authorities said it was a “miracle” there were no serious injuries.
Police said the white B-double train lost its brakes as it travelled on the downward track of the South Eastern Freeway.
The truck then ploughed into six cars which were waiting to turn right into Portrush Road, in Adelaide’s outer southeast — the site of a major fatal crash in 2014.
A cyclist was also waiting at the intersection and walked away.
“It is extremely lucky no one was seriously injured given the history of this intersection,” a police spokesman said at the scene.
“He (the cyclist) should buy a lottery ticket. That’s just insane.”
The driver, a 57-year-old from Queensland, was cleared of being drunk or high on drugs.
Witnesses said he tried desperately to avoid a accident.
The crash caused traffic chaos.
One driver said he was waiting at the intersection when he heard a “loud bang” and saw cars being shunted.
Metropolitan Fire Service station officer Andrew Forrest said the cyclist only received a bent bike handlebar before riding off after speaking with police.
He said it was “miracle” there were no serious injuries.
One driver was taken to the Flinders Medical Centre with minor neck pain and shock while paramedics treated another motorist for a minor head cut after he was struck by a loose object in his car.
Police defected the truck from BJ Harris Express, for further investigation.
It was the first of three serious crashes across South Australia on Wednesday night.
A man has died after a car crashed into a tree at Bookpurnong in the Riverland and a motorcyclist has been seriously injured after a crash with a ute at Globe Derby Park.
The S-E Freeway downtrack into the city is notorious for truck crashes.
Numerous safety measures, including lowered speed limits, upgraded signage and increased penalties for speeding truck drivers, had been implemented on the freeway in response to recommendations made by the State Coroner following inquests into heavy vehicle fatalities on the road.
An out-of-control sewerage truck smashed into cars at the bottom of the freeway on August 18, 2014, killing Tom Spiess, 56, and Jacqui Byrne, 41.
A coronial inquest into the incident heard the truck was travelling at 151km/h in the final 190m before hitting the victims’ vehicles.
On January 18 that same year, a semi-trailer rolled at the same location, killing its driver James William Venning, 42.
Last year, new safety cameras capable of singling out speeding trucks were installed on the freeway.
The cameras target trucks on the downtrack where they are only permitted to travel up to 60km/h while other vehicles can travel at up to 90km/h.