‘Lack of a right turn lane from Trower Road into Lakeside Drive results in regular near misses’: Fatal crash on Trower Rd sparks community debate

The tragic death of a woman at a notorious intersection has renewed calls for upgrades to be made at the Darwin black spot.

THE tragic death of a woman at a notorious intersection at Trower Road and Lakeside Drive has renewed calls for upgrades to be made at the Darwin black spot.

An horrific two-vehicle crash that killed a 36-year-old Indigenous woman on Sunday is the latest of a series of crashes that have plagued the spot over the years.

The 21-year-old male driver accused of causing the crash was in a stable condition at Royal Darwin Hospital last night.

It is unclear if he will be able to front court tomorrow when his matter is mentioned for the first time.

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The 21-year-old is facing multiple charges, including drive motor vehicle cause death, drive dangerously during a pursuit and failing to obey the direction of police.

It comes after emergency services were called to another road crash near the same intersection yesterday, marking a bad start to National Road Safety Week.

A woman was also hospitalised earlier this year after a nasty crash there and last January a red SUV ploughed into a car and the front fence of a property at the same spot.

The intersection has sparked safety concerns with surrounding residents around Jingli and Anula for years.

Police investigate the scene of a horror crash at the Trower Rd and Lakeside Dr intersection on Sunday. Picture: Glenn Campbell

One frustrated Trower Road resident said a driver once crashed into his fence after getting their foot stuck under the pedals. He said while most of the crashes he’d seen there were purely due to driver error, bringing in some changes could help.

“Lack of a right turn lane from Trower Road into Lakeside Drive results in regular near misses and a few crashes,” he said.

“Cars heading city bound don’t seem to notice stopped vehicles waiting to turn right on a green light and lock the tyres up trying to stop last second.”

Another concerned Jingli resident said it was “almost a daily occurrence” to see drivers running the red light at the intersection.

A white sedan that was pushed into the median strip and light pole on Trower Rd after it was hit by a red 4WD last January. Picture: Kieran Banks

“They need to get rid of the option of turning right into Lakeside Drive from Casuarina or create a filter lane instead of just sitting in the middle of the road waiting,” he said. “It puts risk to drivers behind that lane of traffic and also all traffic comes from Rapid Creek when a driver stuck in the middle of the road risks taking a gap to get out of the middle of the road.”

The latest fatal is being treated as a death in custody because it occurred during a police chase.

The 36-year-old is the eighth Indigenous person to have died in custody across Australia since March 2. The woman died on the scene while the 21-year-old driver and two other passengers were taken to hospital.