Woman seriously injured, man in custody after car crashes, catches fire on Warrego Highway at Karalee, Ipswich

Two people have been seriously injured and a man is in custody after a fiery head-on car crash on the Warrego Highway at Karalee.

A man has been charged and a woman is in hospital with serious injuries after two cars collided head-on in the eastbound lanes of the Warrego Highway and one caught fire.

Paramedics, including critical care and high acuity response units, were called to the crash just west of the Bremer River Rail Bridge at Karalee, Ipswich about 5.24pm on Saturday.

Police will allege a 29-year-old man was driving a white Mazda station wagon bearing false registration plates when he was observed driving erratically and dangerously.

PolAir monitored the car where it was allegedly travelling at speed on the wrong side of the Warrego Highway at Karalee.

The driver of this Mazda allegedly failed to stop before police before colliding with another vehicle and bursting into flames. Picture: Katelyn Martin

Police said the man failed to stop when directed by police and a tyre deflation device was deployed.

The station wagon collided with another vehicle, a Dodge Ram, at Karalee, causing it to roll several times before the Mazda caught fire.

The driver of the Mazda was taken to Ipswich Hospital and later discharged into police custody.

A 37-year-old Wilsonton Heights woman, the passenger in the Mazda, was transported to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a serious but stable condition with chest and leg injuries.

She remains in a critical condition.

The occupant from the Dodge, a 49-year-old Glenvale man, was taken to the same hospital in a stable condition with an arm injury.

Firefighters were called to the head-on collision following reports a person was trapped and a car was on fire.

A Glenvale man was injured when his vehicle collided with a Mazda that allegedly fleeing from police. Picture: Katelyn Martin

A Queensland Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said three fire trucks were sent to the scene, but the fire was extinguished by police before the first truck arrived at 5.26pm.

“Prior to our arrival, one female was pulled out of the car and was suffering burns,” he said.

“When we arrived there was no fire and nobody was trapped, so we just made the scene safe.”

An off-duty doctor was tending to patients when the first fire truck arrived.

The driver of the Mazda was refused police bail and will appear in the Ipswich Magistrates Court on Monday November 15.

The crash comes one week after an allegedly stolen car crashed at New Chum, leaving five teenagers seriously injured.