51-year-old Penola man charged over horror Easter Sunday three-car crash near Penola

A 51-year-old Penola man will face court today over a crash that killed two people – with a woman who witnessed it describing the scene as “absolutely horrific”.

A couple has died at the scene of a horror three-car crash near Penola in the state’s South-East on Sunday.

Police and emergency services were called to the Riddoch Highway and Three Mile Lane just after 5.15pm after reports of a crash between a Ford sedan, a Ford ute and a Tesla.

A couple in the Ford sedan – a 62-year-old male driver and his 54-year-old female passenger, both from Suttontown, a suburb of Mount Gambier, died at the scene.

Crash scene near Penola where two people died. Picture: Supplied

A Mount Gambier local who witnessed the crash that claimed the lives of the two Suttontown locals has described how she was in “utter shock” when she saw the crash.

“I couldn’t believe it happened, I was in complete and utter shock,” Jalisa Anahera Bateman-Davis, 31, said.

“(One of the cars) was like a bowling ball,” she said.

“(It) tapped the Tesla and it spun out and then took out the sedan, debris went absolutely everywhere.

“The debris explosion went into the sky. It was absolutely horrific.

“I swerved onto the other side of the road, I pulled over, got out called police and helped the people in the Tesla and made sure the kid was okay.”

Ms Bateman-Davis said other people got out of the car to help the two people in the sedan.

“They were gone (and the other people) covered the car in towels,” she said.

The driver of the Tesla and their passenger are in hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Picture: Supplied

“I popped my head around to check on the people in the sedan and saw a deceased man.”

Ms Bateman-Davis, who was coming home from working at the Penola races, said she never expected something to happen after an “awesome day”.

“After an awesome day at the races, I never thought it’d happen, but can’t trust anyone on the roads ever,” she said.

The 51-year-old Penola man was arrested and charged with two counts of cause death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing harm by dangerous driving. He was refused bail and is expected to appear in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

The Advertiser understands the man, driving the Ford ute, had just finished a shift after working in Portland and is in hospital with broken ribs.

Their deaths were the 22nd and the 23rd lives lost on SA roads this year.

The sole occupant of the Ford ute, a 51-year-old Penola man, was taken to hospital for minor injuries.

The driver of the Tesla, a 42-year-old woman, and her 69-year-old female passenger, both from Victoria, were taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The Riddoch Highway was closed for several hours while Major Crash investigators examined the scene.

Scene of the double fatal accident at Penola in the South East. Picture: Eva Blandis

Flowers left at the scene on Monday. Picture: Eva Blandis

On Monday, a bunch of colourful flowers were left at the scene, where a small number of debris was still scattered on the highway and an embankment on the side of the road.

A Penola local told The Advertiser that the stretch of the highway where the collision occurred was “notorious”.

“There has been crashes (there) over the years,” she said.

“It’s a busy stretch of road there and it’s not overly wide.”

The woman said locals had been avoiding driving, with the Main Street unusually quiet for a public holiday.

“I think a lot of locals haven’t been going for a drive, it’s just so sore,” she said.

“It’s upsetting … we don’t like it at all.”

Des Noll, the mayor of Wattle Range Council, called for a higher police presence but said “people have to drive with more responsibility”.

“You have to make sure you’re driving to road conditions,” he told The Advertiser.

The deaths are the second and third fatalities of the Easter weekend in South Australia after a western suburbs man died in a crash at Two Wells, about 40km north of Adelaide, on Thursday afternoon.

As thousands of holiday-makers return to Adelaide today, the forecast is for showers from late afternoon which could make roads slippery after a long dry spell.

It’s been a tragic Easter weekend on Australia’s roads, with crashes claiming the lives of at least 17 people and sparking urgent warnings from police.

That toll includes a 39-year-old Queensland woman who was killed when her car was hit by an allegedly speeding, intoxicated and unlicensed man driving a ute stolen from a charity.