Two beloved Port Augusta fathers were left with fatal injuries after their train collided with a truck on the SA-NSW border – but transport authorities didn’t know until a member of the public answered their mobile phones.
Early investigations have revealed the truck was travelling at 90km/h an hour over a lit-up level crossing before it was struck by the train.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has handed down its preliminary report after a five-month investigation into the horror crash on New Year’s Eve on the Barrier Hwy, that killed Kevin Baker, 57, and Mick Warren, 48.
Experienced Queensland truck driver Kevin Pearson, 75, was charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving after the crash.
In the report, the investigatory body said the truck was travelling at about 90km/h when it entered the Barrier Hwy crossing near Cutana at 10:15am on December 31.
The crossing did not have boom gates, but had active warning systems including lights and bells which had activated.
The train, which was driven by Mr Baker and Mr Warren, was travelling at about 84km/h when it collided with the truck’s trailers and the two locomotives and six multi-platform freight wagons derailed.
The 75-year-old truck driver was taken to Broken Hill Hospital with minor injuries.
The ATSB said a large amount of the rail and level crossing infrastructure was destroyed or substantially damaged in the crash.
The aftermath of the horror truck collision on Barrier Highway. Picture: 7NEWS
While the crash occurred at 10.15am, the rail network’s control officer was not aware of the accident until emergency services called at about 10.30am, the ATSB said.
A number of attempts were then made to contact the crew via the train radio, before contacting Pacific National, which then tried to contact them via their personal mobile phones.
But it wasn’t until 11.24, more than an hour after the crash, that one of the driver’s phones was answered by a member of the public.
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