Truck driver charged after two students seriously injured in crash outside Marryatville High School
A truck driver who allegedly drove through a light which had been red for four seconds, severely injuring two high school students, was released on bail just six hours later.
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A truck driver who allegedly ran a red light at least four seconds after it had changed, mowing down two school students – leaving one critical and the other with serious injuries – has been granted bail.
Dashcam video shows the horror unfold as three teenage students cross Kensington Rd on their way to Marryatville High School on Wednesday at about 8am.
Footage shows the traffic light was red for at least four seconds before the truck entered the pedestrian crossing and struck two students, a 16-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl, in front of several shocked witnesses. A third pupil managed to pull back at the last moment and avoid being hit.
Two students remain in hospital – one in a critical condition – while the third is recovering at home.
A 60-year-old man, who was not injured, was arrested by Major Crash officers on Wednesday afternoon and charged with two counts of causing injury by dangerous driving.
He was bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on June 7.
Prior to the man’s arrest, Superintendent Narelle Kameniar said police were investigating whether the truck, which was delivering goods, ran a red light.
“It looks like the students were crossing at the pedestrian crossing and the truck may have gone through a red light,” she said at a press conference on Wednesday morning.
Supt Kameniar said police would allege three of the four traffic lights at the crossing were “clearly visible” despite debris and fallen branches from Monday’s wild weather.
“There is no reason why that light should not have been seen by that driver.
“This is a tragedy for everyone who witnessed this and my heart goes out to the families and the school.
“It takes a split second in decision-making and this is where we end up. We need people to take heed of the (road safety) messaging.
“There are certain things that will never leave someone’s mind and seeing something as horrendous as what happened this morning is one of those things.”
The school is working with students who witnessed the accident.
The incident was discussed among the school community on Wednesday morning and the school has offered students support services and the option to leave early.
“Before school this morning three students from Marryatville High School were involved in a motor vehicle incident on Kensington Road at a crossing point with traffic lights in place,” the school’s principal John Tiver said.
“Two of the students remain in hospital, while the third is recovering at home.
“We have been in contact with the students’ families to offer our support and the thoughts of our entire school community are with them at this difficult time.”
After school on Wednesday, a year 11 student aged 16 said all three students were “really nice”.
He said one of his mates almost stepped into the path of the truck.
“I just hope he’s OK – he said he was about to step in front of it as well, then he saw and pulled back.”
He said the boy in hospital was a kind class member.
“One time, we were in food tech and he made a bowl of ravioli or pasta and I didn’t bring anything because I forgot and he just gave me the whole bowl,” the student said.
He said the girl, who was in a serious condition, was “really nice too, she helped me with my work once.”
Another student witnessed the scene immediately after the accident.
“I heard the brakes slam from a distance,” he said.
Another student told The Advertiser it was a “sad” situation because the whole school was “really tight knit”.
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A parent with a child at Marryatville High said the school community would be “shocked” to hear about the incident.
They said more needed to be done to avoid incidents on the busy Kensington Rd.
“There could be some safety measures put in place.”
David Walkley, a Kensington Rd resident, said he didn’t see the incident but heard it.
Mr Walkley said the crossing was usually manned by teachers and the kids always used the lights, while some students posted pictures of the scene to social media site Snapchat.
The Education Department is providing wellbeing support and counselling to students and staff, which will continue to be available in coming days for those who need it.
The state of our roads in 2023
This horror incident comes the day after a 65-year-old Victorian man died and a female driver was rushed to Mount Gambier hospital following a horror head-on crash near Penola.
The man’s death is the 36th life lost on SA roads compared to 16 at the same time last year.
It also comes as a cyclist is fighting for his life in hospital after he crashed his bike at Darlington this morning.
Emergency services were called to Flagstaff Rd, near Hyland Ave, after it is believed the cyclist fell of his bike at around 6.40am on Wednesday.
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