Easter road tragedy

‘Horrific’ Kakadu crash claims lives of driver, two passengers

THE man behind the wheel of a hired 4WD that lost control on a bend and rolled in Kakadu National Park, killing himself and two others, was not experienced with NT road conditions, police say.

Seven young people – all believed to be members of the Top End’s Bangladeshi student community – were travelling from Jabiru to Cooinda in a Toyota LandCruiser on Saturday afternoon when it crashed on the Kakadu Highway.

Four women were injured in the crash and were yesterday in a stable condition in a Darwin hospital.

The driver has been identified as a 29-year-old Bangladeshi man, but the nationalities of the other six passengers had not been released late yesterday.

“The driver was pretty inexperienced in Territory conditions. He was in a vehicle he was not familiar with – it was a hire vehicle,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Tony Fuller said in Darwin yesterday.

“He’s lost control in a large bend and ended up rolling the vehicle. One person was ejected from the vehicle.”

Speed may have been a factor and there are inquiries into whether seatbelts were worn.

Two CareFlight aircraft were sent to the crash site, described by a spokesman as “horrific”, along with doctors and nurses.

A second vehicle carrying family members was believed to be in convoy with the LandCruiser.

The four injured women – three of them in their 20s – were flown to Royal Darwin Hospital.

Up to 100 people from the Bangladeshi community were keeping vigil at the hospital for the four women, the ABC reported.

The highway was closed for several hours just north of Cooinda Lodge but has since reopened.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Fuller urged all drivers to take care returning from Easter breaks.