Two people died in a horror three-vehicle crash in regional Queensland on Friday.
Queensland Police say a man and woman were traveling north on the Bruce Highway in Wunjunga, about 22km south of Home Hill, when a truck traveling in the opposite direction collided with their vehicle about 11.30am.
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The incident subsequently caused a third vehicle to crash.
The driver of the initial vehicle, a 67-year-old Hervey Bay man, died from his injuries at the scene.
His 62-year-old passenger was airlifted to Townsville University Hospital in a critical condition, but later died from his injuries.
The 67-year-old driver of the car died from his injuries at this scene and his 62-year-old female passenger later died in hospital. Credit: 7NEWSPolice at the scene of the Wunjunga fatal crash. Credit: 7NEWS
The truck driver, a 61-year-old Deeragun woman, and the 36-year-old male driver of the third vehicle managed to escape the ordeal uninjured.
“It’s a very horrific scene,” Queensland Police senior sergeant Craig Shepherd told 7NEWS.
Forensic police are investigating the circumstances of the crash.
Anyone with information or dashcam vision of the area at the time of the crash is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestoppersqld.com.au.
The grieving daughter of a man who died in a horrific crash in South Australia last year has launched a blistering attack on the drunk and speeding driver responsible for his death.
Campbell Henderson, 29, appeared in court on Thursday after pleading guilty to causing the crash on Easter Monday 2021 that killed his friend and 39-year-old passenger Nick Peart.
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The crash occurred just meters from the houses of both men, who were neighbors as well as friends.
Peart’s high school sweetheart and wife Elaine Revi-Peart told the court in a victim impact statement that more than a year after losing her partner: “I get chest pains which I can only describe as heartache.”
Henderson was driving almost 40km over the speed limit when he lost control around a bend in Brukunga and crashed into a large tree.
Witnesses reported seeing his distinctive yellow ute doing burnouts earlier that night.
His eldest daughter, 14, also made a scathing statement to the man who was once like an uncle to her: “I hate you, I want to see you leave in cuffs and prison clothes, you have ruined my life.”
“Without my dad, it is hell.”
The fatal crash at Brukunga on Easter Monday claimed Peart’s life after the speeding car lost control and collided with a tree. Credit: 7NEWSWitnesses said they saw the distinctive ute doing burnouts on the same night as the crash. Credit: 7NEWS
Henderson was teary-eyed in court and remorseful as he admitted in court that his driving was “dangerous and irresponsible.”
“If there was any way I could trade places with Nick I would, I’ll never forgive myself.”
He pleaded guilty to causing the fatal crash.
The court heard Henderson had no criminal history and has suffered ongoing mental and physical health problems as a result of the accident he has little memory of.
It heard that the last thing Henderson remembers is being in the car, before waking up in hospital, after which he has experienced PTSD and suicidal tendencies.
His lawyer asked for a home detention report to be ordered, which Judge Joana Fuller said she would consider but did not order on Thursday.
Henderson was granted bail last year and has spent just hours in police custody.
He is South African-born but has been living in Australia since he was 10 years old, and is currently in the country on his mother’s UK passport.
He is set to be sentenced next month.
Nick Peart was the high school sweetheart of his now grieving widow and the sole wage earner for their family. Credit: 7NEWSHenderson (left) is remorseful and said he has suffered physical and mental health issues after the fatal crash. Credit: 7NEWS
Revi-Peart said her neighbor “chose to drive that day”, and that her husband “paid the ultimate price for trusting a friend”.
Peart’s mother said her son’s death was a shocking and senseless tragedy.
The last year has been tough for the family, who aside from losing Peart, have had to find a new house following extensive water damage to their home, while also caring for their daughter Kayley who lives with the health condition Neurofibromatosis type 1.
The family fundraised over $30,000 after the accident to go towards legal costs, and to support the family grieving the loss of their sole wage earner.
Daughter’s blistering attack to her father’s friend after dad’s death.
Daughter’s blistering attack to her father’s friend after dad’s death.
US actress Anne Heche is reportedly fighting for life following a collision that left her vehicle “engulfed in flames”.
The incident occurred on Friday morning (local time) in the Mar Vista area of Los Angeles, near her home.
Heche, 53, is the former partner of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, and is known for films including Donnie Brasco and Cedar Rapids.
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Pictures and video footage obtained by US media outlet TMZ showed the Emmy-award winning actress driving a blue Mini Cooper, which was later pictured severely damaged at the scene.
The vehicle drove into a two-storey home and “erupted in heavy fire” according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Anne Heche in 2018. Credit: Chris Pizzello/APAn aerial view of the crash scene. Credit: NBC
“Fifty-nine firefighters took 65 minutes to access, confine and fully extinguish the stubborn flames within the heavily damaged structure,” an LAFD report stated.
“One female adult (was) found within the vehicle, who has been taken to an area hospital by LAFD Paramedics in critical condition.”
The LAFD also confirmed that the vehicle drove ten meters into the residence but that the occupant of the house escaped without injury.
The building was left “uninhabitable”, said spokesman Brian Humphrey.
Heche began dating DeGeneres in 1997 but separated in 2000.
A Queensland boy has died after he was hit by a four-wheel-drive, which was reportedly being driven by his grandmother.
Police say the one-year-old was on a footpath outside a home in Heatley in central Townsville about 5.30pm Tuesday when the tragedy took place.
“He was immediately taken to Townsville University Hospital where, sadly, the boy later died,” a spokesperson said.
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It is understood the boy was hit by the vehicle when he ran out of the home as the grandmother was leaving. She had been unaware the child was near her vehicle, The Townsville Bulletin reports.
The grandmother reportedly rushed the boy inside, before placing him in her car and taking him to hospital.
The one-year-old was on a footpath outside the central Townsville home when the tragedy took place. Credit: 7NEWS
A close neighbor recalled the shocking moment her husband saw the little boy injured on the ground.
She said he heard a commotion and saw a passing car stop in the middle of the road as the driver tried desperately to get the attention of the grandmother in a Toyota Prado, who had just hit the child.
“He saw him lying there … We would never have expected this to happen,” she told The Bulletin.
Forensic Crash Unit police are investigating the incident.
