Easter long weekend road toll 2023: Four dead in Canberra crash
A well-loved Yass couple has died after their ute was hit head-on in a horror Easter Friday crash that killed four on a busy highway not far from their home. It brings the Easter road toll to six.
NSW
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A well-loved Yass couple has died after their ute was hit head-on by another vehicle in a horror Easter Friday crash on a busy highway not far from their home.
Dianne Perry, 52, was killed instantly when the Mitsubishi Triton ute she was driving was struck by the Ford Ranger ute, which had crossed to the wrong side of the Barton Highway. Her husband Craig, 54, died at the scene shortly after.
Witnesses told police the Ford was “swerving in its lane prior to veering across double lines” and colliding heavily with the Mitsubishi.
The crash happened about 6.45am in heavy rain near Casuarina Lane at Jeir, about 30km south-east of Yass and halfway between the ACT village of Hall and the NSW town of Murrumbateman.
Emergency services from the ACT and NSW, including three rescue helicopters, arrived shortly after the collision.
The driver of the Ford and his rear-seat passenger were trapped in the wreckage and treated at the scene by paramedics and eventually extricated from the vehicle with the help of NSW Fire and Rescue.
Both men died at the scene despite the frantic efforts of rescuers.
The front-seat passenger of the Ford miraculously survived — he was extricated from the vehicle and rushed to Canberra hospital in a critical condition.
Police sources say the occupants of the vehicle, all in their 20s, did not all have personal identification on them, so investigators are frantically trying to ID them through other means. Citizenship papers suggest they reside in Wentworth.
A police officer from the Yass local area command said the tragedy would heavily impact the Southern Tablelands community.
“It’s tragic when locals are involved in an Easter tragedy on the first day of the long weekend,” he said.
“This will have deep ramifications and long lasting effects for the local community.”
Local residents include Barton Estate Wines owner Julie Chitty, whose 220-acre property fronts the Barton Hwy at Jeir, just a couple of kilometres from the crash site.
She said it was a “horror” stretch of highway that had seen its “fair share of accidents and near misses”. During holiday periods, traffic volumes spiked.
“It’s just awful — four people killed,” she said.
“Barton Hwy is the main corridor from Canberra out to Yass and beyond, and on this stretch it’s just a single lane highway in both directions.
“Millions is being spent by the government on the duplication of the highway - to turn it into a dual-lane highway — but this section has not started yet.
“There’s more and more traffic coming through and there’s regular accidents, some of them fatal, and that’s not to mention all the near misses.
“It’s the nature of having a main highway cutting through what are essentially rural properties.”
Ms Chitty said the road conditions had long been a “vexed issue” for locals.
“We’re a tight-knit community — this is just devastating for the families involved, whether they are locals or from outside the area,” she said.
“You worry about driving on the road because of the conditions — personally I have a son on P-plates and a daughter on Ls and it’s a real worry.
“There’s always someone in more of a rush than they need to be — especially during short breaks like Easter where everyone is rushing to get to their destinations.”
On Friday afternoon Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Acting Assistant Commissioner Tracy Chapman, said the family of the couple had been notified.
“Our thoughts are with the family, the friends and the local community that will no doubt feel the impact of these deaths,” she said.
Assistant Commissioner Chapman said it had been a tragic start to the Easter holidays, with six deaths in total on NSW roads since Thursday morning.
A 22-year-old man died in Oakville about 2.30pm on Thursday after crashing into a wall.
The sole driver of a Toyota hatchback was treated by police before the arrival of paramedics, but he died at the scene.
Meantime a motorcycle rider lost her life at 9.30am on Friday morning following a two-vehicle crash on Waterfall Way, Hernani, in the Clarence Valley.
The rider has not been identified but is believed to be in her 20s.
“Every time someone gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, jumps on a motorbike, they accept the responsibility and that responsibility is to do everything they can to keep themselves, their passengers and other road users safe,” Assistant Commissioner Chapman said. “Police can only do so much.”
On day one of NSW Police’s high-visibility traffic operation, 39 people were caught drink driving, 69 tested positive to roadside drug testing, and over 1700 infringement notices were issued — including over 600 for speeding.
Assistant Commissioner Chapman Operation Easter 2023 would run until 11.59pm on Monday and the message for the rest of the holiday period was simple.
“Drive to the speed limit, drive to the conditions, don’t drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol ... and focus on the road and not your phones — and that’s the message we need motorists to heed to ensure we have an incident-free weekend,” she said.
NSW Police are investigating the circumstances around the three fatal crashes.
Anyone with dashcam footage or other information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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