Kids taken to scene

POLICE have criticised dozens of “sightseers” who brought their children to watch emergency crews try and save the lives of four people at a grisly crash scene.

A mother and daughter were killed – and two others left in a critical condition – in northern NSW on Sunday afternoon when their rental car left Clothiers Creek Road in a high-speed crash.

The family of four Asian tourists were coming back from a day trip to Byron Bay about 4.20pm. Police believe the grandmother, aged 64, and mother, 46, passed away at the scene while a father, 47, and son, 14, were rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Tweed Byron Local Area Command Detective Superintendent Wayne Starling said he was shocked at the behaviour of locals who pulled over with their children to see what would have been a confronting sight for emergency crews.

“It’s tragic for not only the people involved but their family and the wider community,” he said.

“Another sad thing about this one is there were many sightseers.

“When the accident occurred, you had parents taking their children to look down at these people who were probably in a very sad state.

“I’d have to suggest to parents that they avoid taking their children to watch situations such as this.

“There would have been in excess of 30 people standing around watching police, emergency services and doctors who were at the scene at the time trying to resuscitate these people.”

NSW police say the family arrived in Australia via Brisbane Airport and were staying in Queensland when they ventured to Byron Bay on Sunday on a day trip.

Ballina forensic crash unit senior constable Adrian Lanyon said police would contact the Hong Kong consulate to alert the families of the deceased this week.

“The main part of our job is to investigate the cause of what happened and then deem whether there needs to be any charges laid,” he said.

“We’ve got a few different lines of inquiry but I wouldn’t say (the crash is) suspicious at this stage.”

In a horror weekend on Gold Coast and Tweed roads, an 81-year-old Stapylton couple died at Buccan, west of Yatala, after their Toyota Sedan crashed into a Holden Jackaroo on WaterfordTamborine Rd.

In an unrelated incident, the female driver of a truck that rolled at Woongoolba carrying a load of cane about 6am yesterday was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.

The forensic crash unit is investigating the cause of the incident.