National highway or country road? Bruce blamed for deadly NQ bus crash
A major north Queensland highway has been described by a local mayor as ‘a country road’ after a bus crash killed three women.
Police have confirmed a woman in her 20s, another in her 30s and a 56-year-old died after the bus collided with a four-wheel drive towing a caravan near Gumlu, south of Townsville.
Two men ā aged 24 and 23 ā are in a critical condition after the Greyhound bus carrying 33 people crashed on Sunday in a 100km/hr zone on the Bruce Highway.
Whitsunday Mayor Ry Collins on Monday said the section of the highway could be challenging.
āThe challenge is this is the national highwayā¦if you are to drive the road it doesnāt feel like a highway, it feels like a country road,ā Mr Collins told ABC radio.
āThereās no shoulders on the road, it is a fairly open section so Iād imagine the vehicles coming either way would have been able to see each other but thereās obviously been something happened here where oneās veered into the otherās lane.ā
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Paramedics treated 27 people, with seven initially taken to a Townsville hospital after the crash occurred in the Whitsundays area on Sunday morning.
Four people remain in hospital including the two men in their 20s who are in intensive care in a critical condition.
Two men ā aged 27 and 51 ā are in a stable condition.
Acting Chief Medical Officer Jason Yates said medical staff acted quickly after notifying the community to only attend the Townsville hospital if their matter was urgent.
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āWe were expecting a mass casualty event and we needed to be ready to respond,ā he told reporters on Monday.
āOur teams worked really hard. We were able to mobilise additional ā¦staff who all came in on a long weekend to do their thing.
ā(They) ā¦were able to provide timely care to the patients that needed it both as part of this tragic event but also our regular people that needed our care.ā
Police said the bus and 4WD had been travelling in opposite directions near Gumlu when they collided, describing the scene as āvery, very confrontingā.
The cause of the accident is still being investigated.āAn incident of this nature is very complex. We want to go through the holistic investigation before we really move towards looking at how and why itās occurred,ā Superintendent Graeme Paine told ABC TV.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles said he was āshocked and saddenedā by news of the crash.
āOur thoughts are with their loved ones and those impacted by this tragedy. Queenslanders are sending you strength,ā he posted on social media.
Greyhound Australia said the company was āheartbrokenā by news of the crash.
āThis is a tragic incident. Our deepest sympathies go out to those involved and their families and friends,ā they said in a statement.
The Bruce Highway was reopened on Sunday night, hours after the fatal crash.
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