One dead after truck crashes into pedestrians
The body of a woman has been recovered from rubble after a truck driver lost consciousness and drifted into oncoming traffic, hitting a light pole, a bus stop and five people before crashing into an abandoned building.
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Police have managed to recover the body of the 44-year-old woman who was buried in rubble after being hit by an out-of-control truck in Alexandria this morning.
A NSW Police source told The Daily Telegraph the woman’s body was pulled free after a joint recovery operation by NSW firefighters, paramedics and police.
The operation required hours of carefully shifting rubble from an abandoned building which collapsed in the crash but the woman’s body was retrieved this afternoon and identified by police.
The 38-year-old driver — who is fighting for his life at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital — lost consciousness just before 8am and began to drift into three lanes of oncoming traffic.
Police will test the driver for drugs if he becomes stable in hospital.
For the next 50 metres the truck hit a light pole, a bus stop and five people before crashing into the abandoned building, which collapsed on the woman who was found deceased.
The front of the truck compressed rapidly on impact and trapped the driver’s legs. It took emergency crews 45 minutes of cutting and several blood transfusions to save his life.
Police fear he may still die before being able to explain what went wrong.
“Part of the truck (was) compressing his legs, which required significant intervention from the medical team and collaboration with police rescue and paramedics to remove him from the vehicle,” said NSW Police Superintendent Andrew Holland.
He said initial investigations found that the pedestrian who died was a woman who was “knocked into the building by the sheer force of the truck”.
A 21-year-old female pedestrian remains in a critical condition at St Vincent’s Hospital.
A 26-year-old woman and two male pedestrians were also taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for treatment.
The truck driver is understood to have been working for a large masonry firm based in Western Sydney.
The B-double truck had left Blacktown and was due to arrive at Rosebery a short distance from where it crashed.
Younis Chalich said it was a confronting scene.
“A lot of people screaming, a lot of people rushing and a lot of people in shock,” he told reporters.
“Not something you want to see.”
NSW Ambulance Acting Superintendent Steve Vaughan said the truck travelled for 50 metres before coming to a stop at the abandoned building.
“He (the driver) was freed and taken to hospital, he may have had a medical episode, but that is yet to be confirmed,” NSW Police Superintendent Andrew Holland said.
“An investigation will either rule that out or in. He’s obviously in shock.”
In a statement, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore described the crash as “heartbreaking” and extended her sympathies to the family of the deceased woman.
“The City will work with the police and other relevant authorities to better understand what has happened,” she said.
“A safe city is a city that is designed for people. As our city continues to evolve and change, we’ll continue to work with residents and the NSW Government to advocate for lower speed limits and for streets that are safe for all road users, especially pedestrians.”
Ms Moore confirmed the empty building was owned by City of Sydney Council and said engineers will inspect the site after emergency services have cleared the area.
Witness Robert Leash said the crash “freaked him out” and described the moment of shock that followed.
“I didn’t know there were people there when all that happened,” he said.
“It was a whole lot worse than I thought it was.”
Another witness, Eunice Chalice, said there were a “lot of people rushing … a lot of people in shock, the driver was pretty stuck,” he told reporters.
“We didn’t know what it was (at first). It was like an explosion, it was that loud.”
Police said there was nothing to indicate the incident was terror-related.
The truck was carrying a load of bricks.
One business owner on Botany Rd said their power went out at 8am.
“We got an alert form our security company saying our power had been cut out and no one has said how long it will be down for,” she said.
“I saw a guy in the truck in an orange high-vis and it looked like he was trapped.”
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