Everyday work commute turns to unimaginable tragedy as woman, 57, dies in Tiger Brennan Dr crash

Thousands of motorists were making their way into Darwin city, driving along Tiger Brennan Dr. But just before 8am, tragedy struck

A woman, 57, was killed in a four-vehicle crash on Tiger Brennan Dr near Berrimah Rd. Picture: Che Chorley

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IT was just like any other morning.

Thousands of motorists were making their way into Darwin city, driving along Tiger Brennan Drive. But just before 8am on Thursday morning, tragedy struck.

With speed limits fluctuating through the stretch of road, a rear-end collision set off a chain of events which left a 57-year-old woman dead.

The woman was on her way to work, with her colleagues left with a gaping hole in their hearts before their day had even begun, while another family never saw their loved one return home.

Tiger Brennan Dr remained closed for about nine hours while Major Crash Investigation Unit detectives investigated the scene of the accident. Picture: Che Chorley

Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner said it appeared a ute had rear-ended a car, which caused a four-car crash about 15km east of the Darwin CBD.

“Circumstances appear to be that a vehicle has rear-ended another and a concertina affect has occurred, three vehicles have been rear-ended by a utility, tragically a person has died at the scene,” he said.

The four cars were left across the four lanes of Tiger Brennan Dr – two inbound and two outbound – with police unsure exactly how they had come to their resting places.

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A ute on the opposite verge with damage to the front, a black Nissan Dualis on the median strip with the boot smashed in and two smaller vehicles, a green Hyundai i20 with minor damage to the back left wheel and the almost unrecognisable remains of a blue Mazda 2 left on the inbound lane where the crash occurred.

Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Linder addresses the media after the crash. Picture: Che Chorley

“My understanding is the crash occurred wholly within the inbound lanes of Tiger Brennan, just after Tivendale Rd and just before Berrimah Rd at 8am or just before which is usually heavily congested with people travelling into work,” Sen-Sgt Lindner said.

“It’s a main arterial route of Darwin so it’s routinely congested.”

The blue Mazda, where the woman died, was quickly covered by a dark tarpaulin, hiding the horrors underneath from the hundreds of delayed motorists, backed up well beyond the 1.5km to Tivendale Rd.

St John Ambulance crews tended to a patient – by the ute on the northern verge of the road – who was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital shortly after 8.30am.

Between the damaged ute and the other vehicles lay a trail – shards of glass, plastic and metal sprayed across the road, with larger chunks of debris scattered among them.

Damaged cars and emergency vehicles littered the scene of the crash. Picture: Che Chorley

Police continued their investigations throughout the day.

Traffic congestion was cleared through an old off-road trail, left behind after previous roadworks.

“Major crash investigations will work through the scene to work out what was the cause of the crash,” Sen-Sgt Lindner said.

“Investigators will put a drone up, and will look at the scene and investigate how and why this has occurred.”

While a number of witnesses remained on scene with authorities, providing information, a more thorough investigation is required.

“We have a number of witnesses at the scene so if there are people that have witnessed the crash that haven’t made themselves known to police, if you can do that in due course, we’d like to speak to (them).”

Cars backed up after a four-vehicle collision on Tiger Brennan Dr left one woman dead while another person was taken to hospital. Picture: Will Zwar

The road remained closed for about nine hours, as police aimed to reopen the route ahead of the evening peak.

Major Crash Investigation Unit detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the crash, and are appealing to motorists who may have captured the incident on dash cam footage.

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Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.