Warrego Highway crash: Man dies after truck and car collide

Police have been confronted with the scene of another horrific crash on a notorious stretch of a southwest Queensland highway. The truck and car collision has left one man dead.

Emergency services at the scene of a fatal crash involving a truck and a car on the Warrego Hwy near Bowenville, Monday, February 7, 2022. Picture: Kevin Farmer

February is shaping up to be a tragic month after an 86-year-old Ipswich man died instantly when his car collided with a truck carting wheat on the Warrego Highway at Bowenville.

Multiple firefighters, police and paramedics were called to the incident shortly after 9.10am on Monday.

Early reports suggest the sedan veered into the side of the semi-trailer heading in the opposite direction.

QFES Area Commander Neil Fanning said it was a confronting scene for all emergency services.

“The sedan was severely damaged, and the patient was declared deceased at the scene,” he said.

Firefighters remained at the incidents to help Queensland Police Service Forensic Crash Unit officers with their investigation.

Dozens of police and firefighters responded to the crash.

The truck driver suffered minor injuries and had removed themself from their vehicle.

The crash occurred about 9.20am near the intersection of the Warrego Highway and Auchmah Road.

It cut the highway, and traffic was backed up about one kilometre in either direction while firefighters cleared the scene.

The incident is only a short distance from where Brett Knecht and Maidie Page died after a similar truck and car crash on January 30.

At the time Mr Knecht was behind the wheel of a semi-trailer when it collided head-on with Ms Page’s Holden Astra.

A heavy haulage tow operator checks the damaged wheels of the truck involved in a fatal crash on the Warrego Hwy near Bowenville. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Despite the loss of three people near the same bend, Insp Fanning said the road was in good condition.

“It is starting to become a notorious corner, but for no apparent reason,” he said.

“It is four lanes, and it is all new surface.

The Ipswich man’s death brought the number of fatalities on Queensland’s roads so far this year to 32, leading to a call from the state’s top traffic cop for motorists to slow down.

Acting Chief Superintendent Ray Rohweder of Road Policing and Regional Support Command said people must take individual responsibility for their safety, acknowledging that safe driving started with the person behind the wheel.

“It is only February 7 and 12 people have sadly lost their lives (this month) on our roads,” he said.

“That is horrendous and our thoughts are with the countless lives that have been devastated by these crashes.

“Everyone knows that speed kills, driving while distracted kills, drink and drug driving kills, driving while fatigued kills and not wearing a seat belt kills.

“This is nothing new, yet we continue to see motorists ignoring the warnings, disregarding the road rules and taking unnecessary and often fatal risks when driving and it has to stop.

“Drive like it is the most important thing that you are doing, because it is. Get it wrong and people die.”

The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating. Phone 131 444.

Traffic was backed up more than a kilometre after a 70-year-old man died in a partially head-on crash at Bowenville on February 7, 2022.