A truck driver has been charged over Sunday’s horrific crash that killed two train workers and has left a huge scene of destruction near South Australia’s border with New South Wales.
Key points:
- A 75-year-old truck driver has been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving
- Two train drivers died in the crash
- The Barrier Highway remains closed in both directions between Peterborough and the NSW border
Emergency services responded to reports of a collision involving a freight train and a road train at a level crossing on the Barrier Highway about 10.30am on Sunday.
Two train drivers from Port Augusta, aged 48 and 57, died in the crash at Bindarrah, which caused containers to topple from the train which was almost 2 kilometres long.
The 75-year-old truck driver from Queensland was taken to the Broken Hill Hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Major Crash investigators have now charged him with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
He did not apply for bail and will appear in the Port Pirie Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The train drivers killed in the crash have been identified as Mick Warren and Kevin Baker.
The former was well-known for his talent as a golfer in Port Augusta, where he won multiple local tournaments.
The Barrier Highway was reopened late on Monday night with a 25 kilometres per hour speed limit in the Bindarrah area, which is expected to be in place over the next three days.
Crews have been brought in from Port Augusta to assist in the clean-up and removal of the containers and debris.
“But it’s also going to be a long process, and then also the road surface itself has also sustained damage, so in turn that will need to be inspected for safety,” Senior Constable Kimberley Broad said.
Police said the impact of the crash caused the locomotive to catch fire, and several of the train carriages derailed and blocked the entire highway.
“It was a horrific scene out there,” Senior Constable Broad said.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) have reached the site and the bureau has launched an official safety investigation.
The ATSB said as part of that, investigators would examine the level crossing, the train and its wagons, “interview involved parties and any witnesses, examine truck and train operational information” and potentially recover components for lab examination.
The truck, which was carrying avocados, was heading east towards Broken Hill, while rail freight operator Pacific National said the train in question was 1.8 kilometres long, and was travelling from Sydney to Perth.
Chief operating officer Patrick O’Donnell told ABC Radio Adelaide’s Spence Denny he would make his way to the crash site, after arriving in Port Augusta.
“Port Augusta is our main train crew depot for trains that travel between the east and the west and it’s the town where our two train drivers, who tragically lost their life, lived,” he said.
“I’m here supporting our train crew, our supervisors, our managers, and also intend spending time with the family today.”
Train camera could help investigation
Mr O’Donnell, who became emotional when reflecting on the deaths of the two men, said counselling would be made available to staff.
“We’ll make sure that all our employees are feeling OK and safe — many of them are grieving,” he said.
“We expect all of our employees to come home safely and unfortunately we had a tragic loss of life. [It’s] terrible news.”
Pacific National said the on-site investigation and clean-up were expected to take some time, and that the resumption of services was “certainly not a priority for us at the moment”.
Mr O’Donnell said Pacific National trains were equipped with outward-facing cameras.
“We’re obviously participating with all the authorities on the investigation. We’ll have our own team up there investigating and we’ll certainly seek to get a better understanding of what happened,” he said.
“The Indian-Pacific obviously won’t be able to run through that section.”
SA Police Minister Joe Szakacs said what had occurred was a “tragedy” and said his thoughts were with the victims’ families.
“I’m so sorry for the loss of these two drivers going about their work,” he said.
“They went to work not for one moment expecting they wouldn’t be going home.”
The two men’s deaths have been included among SA Police’s count of lives lost on South Australia’s roads, which reached 117 last year.
“The number of lives lost on the state’s roads reached 117 for 2023 compared to 71 in 2022,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Rob Papworth said.
“This is the highest toll since 2010.”
Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) assistant national secretary Shayne Kummerfeld said the two victims were highly respected members of the rail industry.
“They were active members of the Port Augusta community and local sporting clubs,” Mr Kummerfeld said on Sunday.
“Today’s tragic incident underscores the urgent need to improve Australia’s rail safety regime.”
