CANBERRA — Two people have died and seven more have been hospitalized following a major multi-vehicle crash in South Australia.
South Australia Police said in a statement on Tuesday that a truck and trailer collided with three vehicles, a black sedan, silver sedan and white utility, approximately 65 km south of the state capital of Adelaide at 12:15 p.m. local time on Monday.
Two women, who were both rear passengers in the silver sedan, died of their injuries. Police said that a 44-year-old woman died at the scene and the second woman died later in hospital.
Seven more people were injured in the crash. The 43-year-old male driver of the silver sedan was taken to hospital in critical condition, and a 14-year-old male passenger was also hospitalized with minor injuries.
The driver of the utility, a 48-year-old man, was taken to hospital in serious condition and all three people in the black sedan were hospitalized with injuries that police said were not believed to be life-threatening.
The 35-year-old truck driver was hospitalized with minor injuries and has been arrested and charged by police with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, two counts of causing serious harm by dangerous driving and four counts of causing harm by dangerous driving.
Police said that investigations into the crash were ongoing. It took the total number of deaths on South Australian roads so far in 2024 to 75.
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