New police appeal for fatal crash info amid deadly start to 2023
An elderly woman killed in a mini-van crash at the weekend was the third person to die on Far North roads this year, as police reach out for dashcam vision of the crash that killed nurse Jane Wheeler.
Cairns
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An elderly Yorkeys Knob woman killed in a mini-van crash outside Atherton on Saturday was the third person to die on Far North roads since January 1.
The 91-year-old woman was a passenger in a minibus when the vehicle lost control and crashed at the corner of Wongabel Rd and the Kennedy Hwy at about 2.30pm.
Police said an 89-year-old Yorkeys Knob man was the driver of the vehicle.
He was taken by road to Atherton Hospital and then transferred via helicopter to Cairns Hospital.
Police said the man sustained severe injuries.
On Sunday afternoon the man was in a stable condition, according to a Cairns Hospital spokeswoman.
Initial police investigations indicated the two were driving in a Landrover minibus, which was travelling northbound toward Atherton along the Kennedy Highway before it rolled at the corner of Wongabel Rd.
The 91-year-old woman sustained critical injuries and was declared dead at the scene.
The highway was closed in both directions between Wongabel and Hastie roads and was reopened at 8.18pm on Saturday.
The latest fatality follows the death of well-regarded Atherton nurse Jane Wheeler, who was killed on the Kennedy Hwy near the Mareeba drive-in when her motorcycle collided with a dual cab utility.
The 61-year-old died at the scene last Friday.
Police have renewed an appeal for witnesses that may have recorded dashcam vision of the crash or footage leading up the January 27 collision, which was reported at 4.49pm.
Any witnesses are urged to contact police.
In 2022 the Far North district recorded the greatest number of fatal crashes since 2017.
The death of a Rocky Point boy in the early hours of the January 1 at Cairns Hospital tragically brought Queensland’s road toll for 2022 to 299 – the most since 2009, when 331 people died.
The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating the circumstances that led to Saturday’s fatal crash outside Atherton.
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