Woman, baby killed in Roper Hwy crash

The Roper Hwy remains closed after a woman and a baby were killed in a head-on crash.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: A BABY and a 25-year-old woman have been killed in a crash on a Territory highway.

A member of the public discovered the horrific Roper Hwy scene near Strangeways River on Friday night.

The call was put to Triple-0 just before 5pm and emergency services including police, firefighters and St John Ambulance responded to the scene 80km east of the Stuart Hwy turn-off.

A head-on collision between a sedan and a truck left witnesses and first responders struggling to help the five people involved.

Despite the best efforts of responders, a 25-year-old woman and an infant child — both passengers in the sedan — died at the scene, unable to be revived by paramedics.

Emergency services had to use the jaws of life to help extricate a 24-year-old woman from the sedan.

She was treated at the scene before being flown to the Royal Darwin Hospital by CareFlight.

The 22-year-old man driving the sedan was also flown to the Royal Darwin Hospital by CareFlight.

The driver of the other vehicle — a truck — was uninjured in the crash.

Both drivers tested negative for alcohol at the scene.

The Roper Hwy remains closed while investigations by the Major Crash Investigations Unit are ongoing.

The crash takes the Territory’s road toll to 31 so far this year, compared to 20 at this time last year.

In 2021, the total road toll in the NT came to 35.

It follows a number of crashes this month, including a 15-year-old boy on July 4 who was killed when the car he was in hit a tree near the Manton Dam turn-off.

The remaining four occumants, all boys between the ages of 9 and 15 were taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital.

Meanwhile, a pedestrian was hit and killed in Winnellie on July 2.   The driver remained at the scene until police arrived and later returned negative results to roadside tests for alcohol and drugs. 

SATURDAY MORNING: A BABY and an adult woman have been killed in a crash on a Territory highway.

Police received reports of a serious crash involving a truck and a car on the Roper Hwy just before 5pm Friday.

The woman and child died at the Strangeways River scene.

Two other occupants of the vehicle were last night being treated at the scene.

They were flown to the Royal Darwin Hospital by CareFlight.

Traffic diversions were in place and a crime scene was declared.

Detectives from the Major Crash Investigations Unit are investigating.

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Originally published as Woman, baby killed in Roper Hwy crash