Inspector Will Collins of the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command speaking to media about the triple-fatal crash on the Kings Highway. Photo: Albert McKnight.
Police will investigate why a sedan crossed onto the wrong side of the Kings Highway and crashed head-on into another car, resulting in the deaths of three people and injuries to four others.
A hatchback and a sedan were travelling at about 100 km/h when they collided head-on on the highway at Monga, a locality between Braidwood and Clyde Mountain, at around 5 pm on Monday (9 March).
Three in the hatchback, a Hyundai i20, died at the scene: the 38-year-old female driver, a 19-year-old female front-seat passenger and a 38-year-old man who was yet to be formally identified.
A 15-year-old girl, who was in the backseat of the hatchback, suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to hospital where she underwent surgery.
The 39-year-old male driver of the sedan, a Hyundai Ioniq, and his passengers, two boys aged seven and three, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were airlifted to hospital as well.
“At this early stage of the investigation, it appears that the sedan has crossed onto the incorrect side of the road and struck the hatchback that was travelling eastbound,” Inspector Will Collins of the NSW Police Force’s Traffic and Highway Patrol Command told media on Tuesday (10 March).
“What caused that maneuver is going to form part of the police investigation.
“You’re looking at a head-on impact at 100 km/h. The vehicles were extremely badly damaged, as you can imagine. It was very confronting.”
Inspector Collins said all of those involved, those who died and those who were injured, were from the ACT-Queanbeyan region.
While there was a relationship between those inside the hatchback, he couldn’t comment further on how they knew each other at this stage.
A triple-fatal crash closed the Kings Highway on Monday afternoon. Photo: LiveTraffic.
The inspector said police had not been able to speak to the driver of the sedan yet as he was undergoing surgery.
“At this stage, there is nothing to suggest to us that speed itself was a factor,” he said.
Inspector Collins said police were processing the scene until the early hours of Tuesday morning and would prepare a report for the coroner. The Kings Highway was closed for hours before reopening at around 5 am.
“Obviously, any scene of that sort of magnitude is very distressing, not only for the emergency services who have to respond to it, but also to the multiple members of the public who stopped to render aid to those people involved in the collision,” he said.
“What we are asking is when you are driving on these regional roads, is that you take some additional care.
“At the speeds you are travelling at on these roads, life-altering things happen within seconds and there’s obviously a number of families that are never going to recover from what happened yesterday.”
Police want anyone with relevant dashcam footage of either vehicle, a 2023-model white Hyundai Ioniq travelling west and a silver Hyundai i20 travelling east, to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1800 333 000.
NSW Premier Chris Minns was at a press conference on Tuesday when he said he wanted to acknowledge the “terrible accident” and joined the police force’s call for more information on the crash.
“For the families who have been affected on that stretch of road, our deepest sympathies. Obviously, we are concerned about it, and we don’t want this happening on NSW roads,” he said.
Mr Minns said his government had allocated $20 million to the Kings Highway.
“In all candour, my understanding is that the money that would go to overtaking lanes and investment on the freeway wouldn’t have affected the area where the crash has taken place,” he said.
“The bottom line here is we need to find out what happened and do everything we can to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“We’ve got three families that will be affected for the rest of their lives as a result of this accident, and it’s devastating for the community – not to mention the emergency service workers.”
Nick Tyrrell, the Liberal Senate candidate for the ACT, said the Kings Highway “has seen little meaningful investment for too long on its most dangerous section east of Braidwood”.
“This horrific crash should prompt an urgent and ongoing funding boost to lower the chances of future serious accidents on the Kings Highway,” he said.
If this story has affected you or someone you love, you can contact Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line on 13 11 14, Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800, or MensLine Australia 1300 789 978.
Original Article published by Albert McKnight on Region Canberra.
