Woman dies as driver rescued
A PASSING motorist has been hailed a hero after stopping to attempt to rescue two occupants involved in a fatal crash near St Lawrence yesterday.
Mackay
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A PASSING motorist has been hailed a hero after stopping to turn a rolled vehicle in an attempt to rescue two occupants involved in a fatal crash near St Lawrence yesterday.
A woman was tragically killed in the single vehicle rollover on the Bruce Highway, about 160 kilometres south of Mackay, just before 6.20am.
The driver, a 41-year-old man, was taken by the RACQ Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service to Rockhampton Hospital with minor injuries just after 9am. He was in hospital overnight.
Police and emergency services crews were at the crash site, about three kilometres north of Granite Creek, near St Lawrence.
Road Accident Action Group (RAAG) member Carol Single said she was horrified there had been yet another death on Mackay region roads this year.
“Mackay is one of the worst areas in the state for fatalities and we are only halfway through the year,” she said.
On Monday RAAG met with Main Roads and Mackay police to discuss road safety, not only on Peak Downs Highway but also on the Bruce Highway.
Ms Single said fatigue and a lack of rest areas for heavy vehicles on the Bruce Highway, especially near Waverley Creek, was a concern.
“A lot of people start driving from Brisbane and the Bruce Highway is a huge black spot.”
Following the fatality police closed the Bruce Highway to all motorists between the north and south entrances to St Lawrence.
Three Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) crews fought a grass fire on the St Lawrence Connection Road from 12.15pm yesterday. The blaze was under control by 5pm, after several firebreaks were created.
Motorists were advised to avoid the area because smoke was affecting visibility.
Meanwhile, leading Rockhampton horse trainer Lyle Rowe was lucky to escape injury in a separate highway crash on his way to a Mackay race meeting yesterday morning.
No-one was injured in the spectacular crash near Marlborough about 9.30am.
Three horses in the float Mr Rowe was towing also escaped relatively unscathed, although they were late scratchings from yesterday's TAB meeting at Ooralea, which had been switched from Rockhampton at late notice.
DEATH TOLL
- Yesterday's crash takes the death toll on Mackay region roads to 21.
- Five people were killed when their vehicles collided on the Bruce Highway, near St Lawrence, on February 8.
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Originally published as Woman dies as driver rescued
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