31-year-old Mt Gambier man dies in crash at Tarpeena, in the South East

Neighbours are shocked by a smash that killed a 31-year-old man in the state’s South East early on Sunday – they say that stretch of road is notoriously dangerous.

Neighbours have reacted with shock after a man was killed after crashing his car into a tree in SA’s South East early on Sunday.

The 31-year-old from Mt Gambier was the sole occupant of a Ford Sedan which crashed into a tree just before 3am on the Riddoch Hwy at Tarpeena, about 23km north of Mt Gambier.

Major crash investigators from Adelaide are visiting the scene to examine the circumstances of the crash.

Nearby residents Brett Kennedy and Melissa McIntosh said the stretch of road is notoriously dangerous.

“That corner has a bad history,” Ms McIntosh said. “We’ve lost too many locals.

“Even I’m cautious and I’ve lived here my whole life because I know what that corner is like.”

Though the stretch of road is posted at 80km/h, cars often are already at 100km/h or more as it sits on the outskirts of Tarpeena, Mr Kennedy said.

“It’s notorious for people to fly through here at night,” Mr Kennedy said. “We see it all the time.

“One car come through the other night if it wasn’t doing 120km/h, 130, just straight past the house, just straight past here.”

The Riddoch Hwy was closed until about 5pm in both directions south of Tarpeena while police attended the scene. It has now reopened.

The man’s death is the 87th life lost on South Australia’s roads so far this year. At the same time last year, there were 77 deaths on SA roads.

Major Crash is on the scene investigating a single car crash that, killed a 31-year-old Mount Gambier man at Tarpeena early Sunday morning. Picture: Arj Ganesan

It follows a string of fatalities on SA roads in the past week.

A crash on Kangaroo Island on Monday claimed the life of a Findon woman, 21.

Then on Tuesday, two tradies died in in a crash about 8km from Angaston, in the Barossa Valley, when a car rolled on Trig Point Hill Rd.

The driver, a Parafield Gardens man, 41, and his passenger, an Elizabeth South man, 35, died at the scene.

A Barossa family told of their shock and sadness after learning of the death of the two men, who had been helping with the rebuild of their house.

Last month, SA Police launched a large-scale safety campaign aimed at dispelling a myth among regional motorists that only metropolitan drivers die on country roads.

Major Crash is on the scene investigating a single car crash that killed a 31-year-old Mount Gambier man at Tarpeena early Sunday morning. Picture: Arj Ganesan