POLICE are investigating whether a medical issue might have caused Wednesday’s horrific highway crash that claimed the lives of an Armidale couple.
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Investigators are trying to piece together the moments before the Holden Vectra crashed head-on into the semi-trailer which had stopped at road works on the New England Highway.
Oxley Inspector Michael Wurth told Fairfax Media the couple, aged in their sixties, were returning to Armidale when the crash occurred, just before 1.30pm, near Lily Creek.
He said preliminary investigations showed the Vectra to be the vehicle at fault, with the 40-year-old driver in the truck escaping injury.
Inspector Wurth said police were investigating whether a medical episode could have led the woman, who was behind the wheel, to cross to the incorrect side of the road, hitting the truck.
The woman, and her male passenger, died at the scene.
“The Holden Vectra collided with the front of the truck, which was stationary, and facing southbound,” he said.
“A mechanical examination of the vehicle will be carried our and a report will be prepared for the coroner.”
A mechanical examination of the vehicle will be carried our and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
- Inspector Michael Wurth
The crash shut the highway until about 8.30pm on Wednesday with traffic diverted at Bendemeer and Uralla via Walcha and on the Oxley Highway.
The deadly road toll has climbed even higher, with emergency services called to a fatal crash near Glen Innes on Thursday night.
One person was killed in the single vehicle crash on Loosemoore’s Rd at Red Range, while another person was taken to hospital by paramedics.
A crime scene was set-up with detectives called in as well as forensic police from Tamworth.
The fatals were just two of several crashes that saw nine people lose their lives on the state’s roads in a matter of 24 hours.
“Our biggest underlying factor is still speed and fatigue and a combination of impairment, whether that is through alcohol, fatigue or drugs,” Highway patrol Inspector Peter McMenamin said.
“We’re losing lives on country roads and it takes a toll on the families and friends, but also emergency services, health care workers and the community as a whole pays a huge price for every life lost on our roads.”
We’re losing lives on country roads and it takes a toll on the families and friends, but also emergency services, health care workers and the community as a whole pays a huge price for every life lost on our roads.
- Inspector Peter McMenamin
Two people were also killed between Walcha and Gloucester on the Thunderbolts Way near Giro in the early hours of Thursday.
The southbound truck ran off the road and burst into flames at 4.30am.