Police release details of fatal traffic crash at Kuranda

Police have released further details after a man died in a fatal collision on the Kennedy Highway at Kuranda on Monday afternoon.

TUESDAY, 8.45AM: POLICE have released further details after a man died in a fatal collision on the Kennedy Highway at Kuranda on Monday afternoon.

Police said initial inquiries indicated around 12.40pm a man was driving a utility outbound from Cairns toward Kuranda along the Kennedy Highway when a collision occurred with a large waste disposal truck driven in an easterly direction toward Cairns by a 48-year-old Mount Sheridan man.

The driver of the utility died at the scene.

The driver of the truck sustained minor injuries only.

Forensic Crash Unit investigations are continuing.

It was a horror day on Far North Queensland roads on Monday, with emergency services also called to a separate fatal crash at Atherton, and a man flown to Cairns Hospital with critical injuries after a truck rollover east of Tolga.

MONDAY, 7.30PM: Police have reopened the Kennedy Highway at 7:20pm on Monday night, thanking motorists for their patience and understanding.

MONDAY 1PM : A fatal crash has shut down both lanes of traffic on the Kennedy Highway at Kuranda, with forensic crash investigators and emergency services on site.

A Queensland Ambulance Services spokesperson said there were two patients involved in the crash, with one sustaining fatal injuries.

The second patient was a truck driver who was in a stable condition.

Police have advised motorists can expect “lengthy delays” as they work to reopen one lane of the stretch of road between the Barron River Bridge and Black Mountain Road.

The Kuranda Range will also be closed in both directions until further notice.

More to come.

Originally published as Police release details of fatal traffic crash at Kuranda