Mackay crash: Young man dead after Kuttabul collision

A passing motorist made the confronting discovery of a young Kuttabul man’s car crashed into a tree on a winding rural road north of Mackay.

A young Kuttabul man has died during surgery after he was found trapped inside a car that crashed into a tree on a rural road north of Mackay.

The 22 year old was the sole occupant of the extensively damaged sedan a passing motorist found crashed into a tree off Kuttabul Mount Jukes Rd about 4.37pm Tuesday.

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Mackay Police District Inspector Mick Searle said the man died at Mackay Base Hospital about 10pm on Tuesday.

“He was alive in a critical condition, both at the scene and when transported to hospital,” he said

“Unfortunately (he) passed away later on in the evening while he was still undergoing treatment.”

A 22-year-old Mackay man has died after a car crashed into a tree in Kuttabul, March 1, 2022. Picture: QPS

He was cut from the wreck after it left a bend on the road, embedded around the tree, about 30km north of Mackay.

Inspector Searle said the Forensic Crash Unit was investigating the circumstances of the crash, but there was not any immediate obvious cause.

“We’re talking about a period of 4.40pm in the afternoon, still bright sunshine,” he said.

“It’s a rural road, it has some twists and turns but again, people drive to the conditions on those.

“It’s a sealed bitumen road … there’s nothing to suggest the road itself is a contributing factor to the cause of the crash.

“The weather was fine, there wasn’t a lot of traffic as far as we’re aware, but these are all facets that are still being investigated.”

A 22-year-old Mackay man has died after a car crashed into a tree in Kuttabul, March 1, 2022. Picture: QPS

Queensland Ambulance paramedics performed CPR on the injured man at the scene and a rescue helicopter was deployed.

The RACQ CQ Rescue chopper landed nearby and prepared to fly the man to hospital but Inspector Searle said the man “required ongoing and acute medical care for the entirety of the journey” which was available in the ambulance.

Firefighters cut through the bottom of the car to free the man.

It is the latest serious crash on Mackay region roads this year following the tragic deaths of four people since January 1.

Bruce Gibbs, 80, died in a head-on crash on the Bruce Highway south of Bowen on February 22.

A 50-year-old man died in a fiery collision between a ute and a truck on the Bruce Highway north of Koumala about 10pm on Friday, February 4.

Clermont woman, Tam Dixon Frewin, died in a two-car crash on the Peak Downs Highway west of Nebo on February 3.

Inspector Searle said the number of fatalities Central Queensland had suffered in 2022 was “tragic”.

“It’s tragic to a range of people, that’s 11 families who have lost people, it’s 11 incidents that have caused significant trauma widely to families, to friends, to first responders who had to go to these crashes,” he said.

“The social cost of road trauma is massive across the community.”