Rockhampton police investigate Bajool Bruce Highway crash with Army tank

A senior police officer has revealed what may have led to a horror crash between a truck carrying an army tank and multiple vehicles as a military expert slams the Bruce Hwy as “not fit for purpose”.

Scenes from the Bruce Highway crash at Bajool with the Army tank in the background. Photo - Steve Vit

Police piecing together the moments before a catastrophic crash which shut down the Bruce Highway for 21 hours say failure to give way to a truck carrying an army tank at a notoriously narrow stretch may have been the cause.

It comes as a military expert labels the state’s major highway as “not fit for purpose”, calling for funding to upgrade sections of the road which “barely meet” civilian requirements let alone army transport needs.

Speaking to this publication on Thursday, Rockhampton Police Inspector Ben Carroll said the fact there were no fatalities at the scene of the explosive crash between trucks, including one carrying an army tank on Wednesday morning, was “simply incredible”.

Insp Ben Carroll has spoken about the horror crash at Bajool.- Photo Steve Vitt

“I think every person walked away, even though they were injured, they managed to extract themselves from the scene,” Insp Carroll said

The crash scene was located on the highway, 24 kms south of Rockhampton, on Bobs Creek Bridge at Bajool.

While the investigation was still in its “infancy”, Insp Carroll said officers knew a “number of cars had stopped at the bridge side to enable the passage of that convoy but we suspect that a vehicle may not have stopped in time”.

“Until we interview all involved parties it may be difficult to determine the cause.”

Initial investigations suggest the oversized truck, carting the Army tanker and accompanied by an escort, was travelling north and vehicles travelling south were giving way to it.

Up to 15 fire crews were at the scene of the crash at the height of the activity on Wednesday. Photo: Steve Vit

However, a series of multiple collisions followed and as there were so many vehicles and fuel, fires broke out which then spread to the side of the road.

The passageway on the bridge is notoriously narrow and complained about by locals and nearby residents who say they have seen multiple near misses there.

A truck driver died on May 7 2020 after his truck crossed the Bobs Creek Bridge about 2am and left the roadway, falling into the creek below.

He was taken to Rockhampton Hospital in a critical condition with injuries to his arms, legs and face but died hours later.

Bruce Highway multi vehicle crash at Bajool involving an army tank. Photo – Steve Vit

The oversized truck was part of four truck convoy with Army vehicles on board, being transported to Shoalwater Bay Training Area north of Rockhampton for Exercise Talisman Sabre.

The Army vehicles, including the tank on the back of the truck involved in the smash, had been offloaded from a ship at the Gladstone Port.

The oversized trucks were driven by civilian contractors under escort.

Bruce Highway multi vehicle crash at Bajool involving an army tank. Army tank. Photo – Steve Vit

Inspector Carroll confirmed all other vehicles involved were heading south on the Bruce Highway.

He said the caravan driver was a contractor who had been to the Rockhampton Expo and was travelling to Bundaberg.

No charges have yet been laid.

Smashed 4WD and caravan from the scene of the Bruce Highway crash at Bajool.

“If police are able to (provide) evidence any offences, then prosecution action will be taken against the involved party or parties,” Insp Carroll said.

Department of Transport and Main Roads inspectors will now do an audit for the condition of the road surface.

ARMY TANK WORTH MILLIONS DESTROYED ON ‘TINPOT’ ROAD

Ross Eastgate, a former Army officer and Townsville Bulletin Defence commentator, says the Bruce Highway does not meet the requirements of transporting large machinery, such as tanks and equipment, up the Queensland coast.

“It’s not fit for purpose, it barely meets its civilian requirements given the number of civilian accidents you have there,” he said.

“It’s an annoyance for the Americans who have big highways and big trains for moving stuff and they come out here and find a tinpot road like the Bruce Highway which needs a massive injection in funds to be fit for defence purposes.”

“When you’re starting to move large flat-beds carrying a tank, I think they weigh about 50 tonnes, plus the weight of the truck in large numbers, it requires a solid road base, widened multi-lane roads and regular maintenance, it also requires bridges that can carry military loads.”

Mr Eastgate explained the tank was the same kind used by the Australian Defence Force.

He said the tanks had to be moved by road or ship because the rail corridor wasn’t capable of carrying vehicles of great width.

The M1 Abrams is believed to weigh upwards of 50 tonnes.

Crash on the Bruce Highway at Bajool on July 19, 2023. Picture: Contributed

“It’s called a main battle tank and it’s exactly the tank that we operate,” he said.

“The ones we (Australia) use are actually refurbished American ones, they have a major refurbishing plant in the states, so they have a long life.

“It’s a substantial cost per item.”

Footage from the scene has shown firefighters hosing down the tank and some burnt charred marks on the exterior.

Mr Eastgate said the tank being usable going forward would depend on the extent of the damage.

“The tank is built as a weapons platform and crew protection, but once you get metal that is fire damaged it loses its ballistic characteristics,” he said.

Burnt scenes at the multi-vehicle crash. Picture: Nine New Queensland

He said it was possible the tank could no longer be “fit-for-purpose” as a weapons platform, crew protection and mobility.

Thousands of military personnel from Australia and across the globe are expected to participate in this year’s Talisman Sabre exercise, with large convoys of machinery and equipment being transported up the Bruce Highway.

Mr Eastgate said the incident was unlikely to have any impact on the exercise.

“It won’t impact the exercise at all because it’s only one vehicle … The Americans will likely have reserves,” he said.

Aerial footage of the crash from Supplied: Nine New Queensland

Anyone who has dashcam footage or witnessed the incident is urged to contact Rockhampton police or Crime Stoppers.

Originally published as Rockhampton police investigate Bajool Bruce Highway crash with Army tank