Cannonvale man dies in cane truck rollover on Gunyarra Rd in Whitsundays

Police have confirmed the factors causing the death of a cane truck driver after his vehicle rolled pinning him underneath in the Whitsundays.

A driver has suffered life threatening injuries after a truck rolled pinning him underneath at 1.20pm on Gunyarra Rd at Andromache. Photo: Krystal Hender

Police have confirmed speed and not wearing a seatbelt were factors in the death of a cane truck driver after his vehicle rolled pinning him underneath.

Multiple emergency services including police, paramedic and fire crews were called to Gunyarra Rd at Andromache about 1pm on November 29.

It is understood the vehicle – a cane truck with full cane bins – had been on its way to drop on its load of sugarcane when it left the roadway at a bend and rolled.

Forensic Crash Unit Senior Constable Mark Siddall said speed had been a factor and confirmed the driver, a 52-year-old Cannonvale man, had not been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

A driver has suffered life threatening injuries after a truck rolled pinning him underneath at 1.20pm on Gunyarra Rd at Andromache. Photo: Krystal Hender

“It’s your life in your hands, wear your seatbelt,” Senior Constable Siddall said.

“Seat belts save lives, it’s proven over and over again.

Paramedics treated the driver who was in a critical condition at the scene but sadly he died from his injuries.

It is understood he was pinned under the truck.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland investigators did attend the scene, but confirmed because the crash occurred on a roadway it was a police incident.

The BMA CQ Rescue chopper was called to a two-truck crash on the Bruce Highway near Bloomsbury at Gibson Creek Bridge on October 28, 2024. Picture: Supplied

This is the second cane related fatality in the region in the past month after two Proserpine men were killed when two cane trucks collided on a private property near Gibson Creek Bridge at Bloomsbury on October 28.

Two fully laden trucks had been outbound and two empty trucks were heading back into the property when the collision occurred between one full and one empty truck, killing two drivers – men aged 38 and 59.

The BMA CQ Rescue chopper landed at the scene but tragically it was too late for the drivers, who were initially trapped in the vehicles, to be saved. They died at the scene.

Investigations were exploring if the dusty dirt road might have been a contributing factor in relation to visibility at the time of the crash.

WHSQ is investigating that incident.