The accident scene in Kaleen. Photo: ACT Police.
A 24-year-old man has died overnight after crashing into a tree in Kaleen. The accident brings the ACT’s road toll to 18, the highest in more than a decade.
ACT Policing says the accident happened on Saturday night at about 10 pm. The man was driving a white Nissan Navara utility vehicle in a northern direction along Maribyrnong Avenue in Kaleen when he crashed into a tree near Macumba Place.
Police responded but said this morning that the man suffered significant injuries and died at the scene.
The Territory’s road toll now exceeds the totals for both 2020 and 2021 combined and is the highest since 2005 when 26 people lost their lives on ACT roads.
ACT Policing’s Major Collision Team is conducting an investigation into the incident and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.
Detective Inspector Mark Steel said early indications were that speed may have been a contributing factor to the accident.
He said the ACT’s road toll now equalled that of 2010, and expressed frustration at the recent spate of weekend fatal accidents.
“Our messaging isn’t getting through at the moment. People need to take care on our roads,” Detective Inspector Steel said.
“We’re a community here. We can’t do this alone. Everyone needs to take their part in this and slow down on our roads.”
He said the accident happened in a residential area, in a 60 km/h zone and the roadway was wet.
Drivers needed to take account of the weather conditions and the state of the roads.
“We’ve had a lot of rain, obviously a lot of damage to our roads. People need to slow down,” Detective Inspector Steel said.
He pleaded for the community to take heed because accidents such as these were traumatic for all concerned.
“There were residents who responded, there’s first responders,” Detective Inspector Steel said.
“It’s a tragedy for the family, a tragedy for the friends, a tragedy for the first responders that have to deal with it and a tragedy for the whole community.
“Most collisions on our roads are avoidable collisions, so we need to get the message through.
“Statistics alone aren’t having an impact on Canberrans. We need to look out for each other. We need to slow down on our roads.”
The general message was don’t speed, don’t use a mobile phone while driving and don’t drink and drive, but with so many potholes on ACT roads at present, people needed to pay more attention than ever.
A family of Bangladeshi tourists lost their lives in a triple fatality last Sunday afternoon when their car collided with another vehicle at Coppins Crossing. The driver was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
Early on 9 October, two teenage girls died when the car they were in left the Monaro Highway and hit a tree.
Anyone who witnessed the Kaleen crash or who may have dash-cam footage from the area around 10 pm is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.
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