Two young girls and their grandparents on a caravan trip in South Australia’s mid-north have been killed in an accident on the Augusta Highway.
The two girls, aged five and 10, a 70-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman died yesterday when their car towing a caravan collided with a truck near Crystal Brook, which is around 200km north of Adelaide.
It is believed the family was from Adelaide.
A passenger in the truck was airlifted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with serious head and leg injuries, while three other people in the truck were taken to Port Pirie Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. It is believed the truck which was towing a trailer with cars on board was on its way back from a drag racing event in Whyalla.
Debris, including luggage and suitcases, was strewn across the highway after the accident, which forced the closure of the highway. Major Crash officers are investigating.
“From the one family, it’s pretty tragic,” Chief Inspector Alby Quinn told media. “You can imagine there are some families at home that are pretty upset. I just want to remind people – we’ve got to be careful on the roads.”
It is currently school holiday time in South Australia. The state’s road toll currently stands at 27, compared to 24 for the same time last year.
How sad is that, Nan and Pop taking the kids on holiday
it is a tragic that a family is taken from us…Yet I do feel that a lot of times people need to be aware that caravanning is not just about Traveling and seeing our beautiful states as it is also about allowing extra time and being more prepared for the roads a head. A lot of old people are on our roads and following them around Australia I have found these caravan driers lack a lot of skills and commitment to other road users. I am aware that at times we can get lazy with our driving ways yet …They maybe experienced yet age slows down your reactions down and you tend to forget a lot of things…Older people can get quite lazy on the road…A lot have this ad
attitude that we can just hold you up because we are old and also seem to have this I could not care attitude…Yes Older Drivers…a lot more people need to be tested for their driving abilities…