Three men, one woman dead after car rolls in Wardell, northern NSW
Four people are dead after a crash near Ballina this morning that saw a ute lose control and roll off the side of a road.
Police & Courts
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Four people are dead after a horror crash on the NSW’s north coast on Saturday morning, with police probing whether all occupants in the car were wearing seatbelts.
Emergency services rushed to the scene at Wardell, near Ballina, about 5.45am, after a passer-by spotted the mangled wreck on Back Channel Rd while travelling to work.
When they arrived, paramedics found a male behind the wheel of the dual cab, two male passengers and one female passenger — all dead at the scene.
This afternoon, Richmond Police District Inspector Mary Tanner said investigators were still trying to work out the group’s connection to each other, and had not identified all of those involved.
“Of the four fatalities there is one in their 20s, one in their 30s, one in their 40s and one in their 50s,” she said.
It’s understood the crash took place before sunrise, when the vehicle lost control and left the road, before hitting a tree and rolling.
Inspector Tanner said that early investigations suggested two of the occupants may not have been wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
“Given the conditions and being a country road, people should take care,” Inspector Tanner said.
“This was one of the back, local roads and at that time in the night, we want people to drive more carefully.
“We don’t want to be called to these types of incidents, and today was a pretty traumatic scene.”
While the deceased are believed to have connections to the area, the vehicle is not registered locally.
Inspector Tanner confirmed the vehicle was not stolen.
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