Truck crash at Halfway Creek, traffic affected

Crews are working to clean up debris from a Pacific Highway truck crash that has restricted traffic between Grafton and Coffs Harbour.

A truck has crashed on the Pacific Highway between McPhillips Road and Kungala Road, Halfway Creek. Picture: Live Traffic NSW

A truck driver is lucky to have walked away with minor injuries after his vehicle overturned on the Pacific Highway.

Emergency services were called to the scene at Halfway Creek just after 1am Wednesday when the B-double truck travelling northbound veered off the roadway.

“The driver lost control and the truck skidded for about 200m in the median strip before overturning and coming to rest partially blocking the northbound lanes,” Coffs-Clarence police officer Chief Inspector Joanne Reid said.

“The heavy vehicle remained generally intact and the load was not released.”

Insp Reid said the driver, a 63-year-old man, was pulled from the vehicle and suffered only superficial injuries to his right elbow.

She said he was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to Coffs Harbour Hospital for more checks.

“Police are investigating fatigue as a contributing factor and will await the results of the mandatory blood sample taken at hospital,” Insp Reid said.

Road clean-up crews have started a salvage operation with traffic flow affected in both directions.

Motorists are advised to allow extra time as one of the two lanes is reduced in each direction.

The stretch of the Pacific Highway has been the site of multiple incidents in recent months.

In October, a truck rolled over near Halfway Creek, with the driver of the truck trapped inside before being freed by firefighters.

The incident caused both lanes of traffic to be closed for most of the day as a recovery took place.

Emergency services also attended a fire that engulfed a B-double truck carrying timber on the Pacific Highway north of Glenugie in July.

The blaze took more than an hour to get under control for firefighters, who then had to deal with the fuel on-board the truck before a clean up could begin.

Just 27 days after that incident, a two-truck collision caused a fiery inferno on the Pacific Highway near Halfway Creek. It is believed the force of the collision split the fuel tanks of both trucks and they became engulfed with flames.

Fortunately both truck drivers were able to leave their cabins, with one driver truck able to disconnect his prime-mover before his trailer loaded with rubber matting was destroyed by the blaze.