BRUCE HIGHWAY CRASH: Driver of stolen car allegedly hit motorist before crash
The driver of a stolen car is the sole survivor of a violent carjacking that left three dead in a catastrophic high-speed crash, after a motorist was hit and driven into the path of a third car.
Police have now confirmed they are treating a triple death as a domestic violence homicide investigation.
The Bruce Highway north of Brisbane is closed to all traffic after a three-car collision south of Gympie about 4am on Friday.
The driver of the stolen vehicle was known to Queensland Police and was taken to hospital with serious head injuries and remains under police guard.
The accident happened in the West Federal Territory of Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast
The car was stolen 12 hours before the highway crash in a violent daylight carjacking on Gympie’s main road on Thursday, police said.
A warning was issued for the car after a knife-wielding man threatened a mother and her three children as the family got into an Isuzu MU-X.
The terrified mother pulled her children out of the car before handing it over to the robbers, and she and her children were unharmed.
Police later found the stolen vehicle, but the driver refused to stop and fled.
It was not being followed at the time of the accident.
The three dead include two women aged 25 and 38 and a 65-year-old man. All three died on the spot.
Detective Superintendent Ben Fadian described it as a complex investigation and appealed for anyone who saw the stolen Isuzu to contact police.
He said police received multiple reports of a silver Nissan Navara and a white Isuzu MU-X northbound on Bruce Highway in Federer around 4 a.m. Friday.
‘The white Isuzu Nissan Navara was trying to ram the motor vehicle,’ said Superintendent Fadian.
As a result, the vehicle [Nissan] Bruce crossed over into the southbound lane of the highway.’
He said the police tried to intercept the car about half an hour after it was stolen.
“At no stage did the police attempt to chase the vehicle after it was taken away from them,” he said.
Det Supt Fadian said: ‘We are appealing to anyone who may have seen the vehicle between 3am and 4am this morning on the Bruce Highway between the Federal and Noosa turn-offs and to contact Crimestoppers.’
Police have confirmed that a car involved in the crash (pictured) was allegedly stolen from Gympie at around 4.30pm on Thursday
‘The tragedy is that three people have now died and the impact this has had on their families.’
Queensland Ambulance Service Sunshine Coast acting director Nigel Jones said it was a challenging incident for all emergency services.
‘The scene was obviously quite confrontational due to the processes of the forces involved – it was clearly a very high speed incident involving these vehicles,’ Mr Jones said.
‘So much so that our paramedics reported that two patients had died from their injuries with a third patient, unfortunately, dying shortly afterwards.’
Southbound lanes of the Bruce Highway are expected to be closed for an extended period, and diversions are in place.
The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating, and no charges have been laid.
Three vehicles were involved in the fatal crash on Federal. Police are at the scene
The wreckage of a Nissan Navara ute involved in the crash crashed against a barrier
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