Allegedly stolen car involved in serious Cairns crash
Multiple patients are being taken to hospital and a major highway has been closed after a serious crash in Cairns.
A woman has died and four others have been injured in a serious crash in Cairns involving an allegedly stolen car. The alleged driver, a 36-year-old man, has been arrested and is in the hospital under police guard. The incident occurred on the Smithfield Bypass in northern Cairns just before 1:30 pm, following reports of a crash involving five vehicles.
Police allege that the man stole a car in Palm Cove around 1:10 pm before colliding with two separate vehicles. Among the injured was a 25-year-old woman from Kewarra Beach, who died at the scene. Another man was taken to Cairns Hospital with serious but stable injuries, while three others were assessed for non-life-threatening injuries.
Chief Superintendent Kevin Fitzgibbon stated that police will allege that after the crash, the driver of the allegedly stolen car entered another vehicle and forced its driver to transport him from the scene. The Smithfield Bypass has since been reopened to traffic. Forensic investigations are ongoing, focusing on three separate incidents: the theft, the accident, and the forced transportation of the man.
Chief Superintendent Fitzgibbon expressed his emotional distress over the loss of a young life and condemned the offending, emphasizing that the community deserves better.
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