Limestone Coast officer in charge Superintendent Phil Hoff this afternoon spoke from the scene of a triple fatality just west of Mount Gambier.
Three Millicent residents have died following a two car crash on the Princes Highway at Suttontown around 12.30pm.
The three occupants of a Ford Territory, a 77-year-old woman, an 80-year-old man and another woman all died at the scene.
The five occupants in the second vehicle, a Toyota Landcruiser, were all taken to Mount Gambier Hospital where four are being treated for non-life threatening injuries and the fifth occupant is being treated for critical injuries.
Princes Highway is closed between Sassanowsky Road and Kangaroo Flat Road.
Diversions are expected to be in place for several hours and motorists are advised to avoid the area.
Major Crash investigators are at the scene to determine the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The lives lost on South Australian roads is at 85, compared to 101 at this time last year.
TRANSCRIPTION FROM POLICE PRESS CONFERENCE
Supt Phil Hoff: Ladies and gentlemen we’ve had an absolute tragedy here at Compton this afternoon. We’ve had eight people involved in a very serious collision and sadly three people have lost their lives. On the Limestone Coast this year no lives have been lost on South Australian roads so this is an absolute blow to our community and it just reinforces our messages about road safety. We need people to take on our roads. As you can see from behind me, two cars absolutely destroyed, a road separated by barrier lines. We’ve got our experts from Adelaide coming here to do a forensic analysis of this scene to determine what happened.
Reporter: Do we have any updates on their conditions?
Supt Hoff: So, we’ve got five people who have been take to hospital. I am unable to comment on the status of their wellbeing at this stage. I believe one person is undergoing surgery.
Reporter: Do we know if those in hospital are from the region?
Supt Hoff: I believe everyone is from the Limestone Coast.
Reporter: Do we know if speed was a factor?
Supt Hoff: This road has a 110kph speed limit so two vehicles travelling in opposite directions have a closing speed potentially if at the speed limit of anywhere up to 220kmph. If that happens and two vehicles travelling that speed come into contact with each other, you can’t expect anything else but the carnage you see behind us. That’s not to say anyone was breaking the law.
Reporter: Could you comment on the stretch of road as well?
Supt Hoff: At the time of the collision it was overcast, the weather conditions were generally fine, this is a fairly straight piece of road so it does make us scratch our head a little bit as to trying to work how something like this happened.
Reporter: Do we know what directions the cars were travelling in at the time of the accident?
Supt Hoff: We’ve got some idea but we are still working through that
Reporter: Do you have any sort of advice for road users?
We have constant messages to people that travel on the road. It’s absolutely something you need to dedicate all your concentration to. This accident is one we are going to have to look at to establish what’s happened. It just goes to show that even the slightest little thing can result in tragedy. Driving is not something you just take in your stride, it is something that is a discipline and you apply yourself fully.
*This press conference originally appeared on TBW Facebook page but was removed due to framing and audio quality. We apologise for any offence or inconvenience caused.
