Person fighting for life, highway closed after horror crash on D’Aguilar Hwy

The D’Aguilar Highway was closed for two hours while a man trapped in the wreckage of a vehicle was freed and airlifted to Brisbane after a crash involving four people Friday morning.

Scenes of the crash posted by SCarlett Logan to the Blackbutt Community Chat Facebook page on Friday.

A South Burnett man seriously injured in a crash on the D’Aguilar Highway on Friday morning was undergoing emergency surgery in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital after suffering life-threatening injuries to his leg, hip, ribs and shoulder.

Ivan Walker, aged in his 60s, was a passenger in one of the vehicles and was airlifted from the scene west of Blackbutt about 9am after being freed from the wreckage.

The Toowoomba-based LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service aeromedical crew was sent to retrieve Mr Walker after a truck he was travelling in and a ute collided on the highway at Gilla, west of Blackbutt in the South Burnett.

Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics rushed Mr Walker to the LifeFlight helicopter waiting at a nearby sports field.

He was treated for leg and pelvis injuries by the LifeFlight critical care doctor, flight paramedic and local QAS paramedics, then airlifted with life-threatening injuries to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where he underwent surgery.

Scenes of the crash posted by Scarlett Logan to the Blackbutt Community Chat Facebook page on Friday.

The D’Aguilar Highway was closed for two hours from about 7am while emergency workers freed him from the wreckage.

A QAS spokeswoman said four people were involved in the crash and assessed at the scene.

The other three people had non life-threatening injuries.

Scenes of the crash posted by SCarlett Logan to the Blackbutt Community Chat Facebook page on Friday.

A spokeswoman for the crash victim said he was undergoing surgery Friday afternoon for a broken leg, hip and ribs, and dislocation of his shoulder.

She said in a post to Facebook:

“Thank you everyone for your concerns and hugs. Ivan has been care flighted to the royal Brisbane. Currently he has a long recovery ahead. He has a broken leg, ribs and shoulder.”

The highway reopened to traffic about 9am.

A photo from the crash scene posted by Scarlett Logan to a Blackbutt community Facebook page on Friday.