Woman, 101, killed in three-car Koah crash
GRACE MASON Commodore which was turning right into a side road on the Kennedy Highway at Koah yesterday morning.
Initial investigations suggest the Commodore was then pushed into the path of an oncoming westbound Toyota HiLux containing a mother and son, aged 47 and 11.
A couple, aged 27 and 23, and a two-year-old boy were inside the Commodore and all five were taken to Cairns Hospital in stable conditions.
The crash shut the highway for more than four hours as police investigated and the vehicles were removed from the scene.
The 101-year-old woman and her daughter were on their way to Cairns when it occurred and the older woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Tablelands police Acting Inspector Mark Stewart has labelled the incident a “tragedy” and urged people to take care on the roads, particularly with the persistent wet conditions.
“It’s an absolute tragedy for this woman to have such a lovely long life and to have it taken in such terrible circumstances,” he said.
“Can I just implore people during this spate of wet weather to drive to the conditions.”
He said police efforts to reach the scene were hampered by a simultaneous crash on the Kuranda Range that blocked the road for a short period.
Five ambulances attended the site near the Koah Roadhouse and the Rescue 510 heli- copter was called but in the end not required.
Cairns police Forensic Crash Unit Senior Constable Leisa Vagg said they were calling for witnesses to the incident, although a vehicle travelling behind two of the cars had been fitted with a dash cam which had captured the crash.