Crash witnesses plea
Police appeal for help over death of man hit by truck
AN Innisfail man hit by a truck and killed in a “horrific incident” at Cardwell has been identified.
Zachary Crease, 46, is understood to have been walking along Victoria St about 8.45pm on Sunday when he was hit by a B-double truck. He died at the scene.
The driver of the truck was not physically injured and has undergone mandatory blood and alcohol testing.
Cairns Criminal Investigation Branch and Forensic Crash Unit are both investigating aspects of the fatal crash.
Detective Inspector Jason Smith said Mr Crease’s activities immediately prior to the fatality were being looked at.
“What we’re concerned (about) is that there may have been a dispute between the deceased and a male that ventured onto the road,” he said.
“We don’t know how long that dispute lasted, but that incident is of concern to police.
“It’s such a horrific incident that it would be good to get a full picture of what happened in the final moments and also to give some closure to the family.”
Detective Insp Smith urged anyone with information to contact police.
“We’d like to appeal to anyone that has dashcam footage or may have witnessed what occurred between the two males on Victoria Street,” he said.
“It’s a complicated investigation at this stage and there’s a number of factors influencing the result.
“But we need to get to the bottom of it to … in due course identify if there’s any criminality or to provide a report to the coroner.”
Sergeant Scott Ezard of the Forensic Crash Unit said police were also investigating whether alcohol, on behalf of Mr Crease, may have been a contributing factor in the fatal crash.
He said the B-double truck would undergo mandatory assessment with assistance from the Department of Transport and Main Roads.