Fatal crash sparks fire, closes road at Cockatoo Valley
A person who died in a horror car crash that sparked a scrub fire on Tuesday still has not been identified, as a neighbour recalls hearing “a loud bang”.
Police & Courts
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Police are still trying to identify the victim of a fatal car crash that sparked a scrub fire northeast of Adelaide on Tuesday.
Police and road crash rescue crews were called to Williamstown Rd, Cockatoo Valley, just before 1.30pm, after reports a car was on fire.
The single vehicle crash also sparked a grass fire in an adjacent paddock.
CFS crews battled the blaze for two hours, dispatching seven trucks and five firefighting aircraft.
The fire was extinguished at about 3.45pm, but burned through at least 300 sqm of grassland according to a CFS spokeswoman.
The green Hyundai Excel was completely burned out and the right rear wheel, including part of the suspension, had landed about 30 metres from where the car stopped.
It is understood the car was travelling in a westerly direction and came around a blind corner before crashing into a pine tree.
Major Crash investigators went to the scene but no further details were immediately available. Investigations are continuing and police are appealing for witnesses as they try to identify the crash victim.
DEVELOPING: Emergency crews are at the scene of a horror smash at Cockatoo Valley where a car has slammed into a tree and burst into flames, sparking a small grass fire. The latest in 7NEWS Adelaide at 6pm | https://t.co/eK7QN6UAgc#7NEWSpic.twitter.com/QBK8Ygo4O8
— 7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) February 13, 2024
Retired carpenter Ian Edwards, 71, lives in a cottage just outside the crash site, where the grass fire spread and threatened his heritage home.
“It was a low fire but it just kept coming, and I just kept stamping on it trying to put it out,” Mr Edwards said.
“But the CFS were brilliant, they got here very quickly.”
Mr Edwards recalled hearing “a loud bang” and stepping outside to see the car on fire.
According to him, a pair of men had stopped by the side of the road to help.
“All of a sudden it just exploded and they had to run away, they knew there was nothing they could do” Mr Edwards said.
“I walked down the road and it was like bombs going off.
“The tree, it burnt up about 20m high – I thought it was all going to go up.”
Williamstown construction worker Jamison Hobbes, 18, stopped at the police cordon after visiting friends on Burge Rd.
He said that the area had been rocked by a number of serious crashes in the last few years.
“Most of the time this road is fine, but things do happen on it every once in a while,” Mr Hobbes said.
“It’s a 100km/h road, so anything can happen – animals sometimes jump out, that sort of thing.”
Mr Hobbes added that it would be “terrible” if the driver was a Williamstown or Cockatoo Valley local.
“People know each other pretty well out here and word gets out pretty quickly,” he said.
“Even if you don’t know someone’s name, you’ll see their face in town or just pulling out of the driveway.”
Farmer Rose Ross, 62, owns 16 acres of farmland less than a kilometre from where the fire spread to the grass.
From the top of her paddock, she heard a crash in the distance and saw a plume of smoke rising from afar.
“There was quite a bit of smoke … It looked like it was ash trees, not eucalyptus trees, so the fire could have been worse,” Mrs Ross said.
She added that speeding happened “all the time” on Williamstown Road and believed 90km/h would be a safer limit.
“You hear of crashes often on these roads, but it’s usually because of kangaroos,” she said.
“But what can you do? Just drive slower and drive to the conditions.”
Anyone else who may have witnessed the incident but has not yet spoken to police is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The death is the 10th life lost on South Australian roads so far this year.
South Australia has recorded the biggest jump in road deaths in the nation
New figures, tabled in federal parliament on Wednesday, showed 109 people died on SA roads in the year to January 31, compared to 78 the previous year – a 39.7 per cent increase.
NSW recorded a 30.8 per cent surge during the same period, while nationwide had a 5.4 per cent increase, or 1257 deaths, compared to 1193 the previous year.
Australian Automobile Association managing director Michael Bradley said the causes of crashes and the effectiveness of each state’s road rules must be shared to save lives.
“Data sharing will save lives, as it will reveal which state’s road safety measures are the most effective, and the safety interventions that are most needed,” Mr Bradley said.
The AMA wants the government to compel states and territories to publish the data to help dictate how $50bn in federal road funding is spent over the next five years.
Mr Bradley said data sharing would also reduce “potential pork-barrelling” and give Australians confidence money was being spent on roads to save lives, rather than win votes.
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