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A heavily damaged vehicle is removed from the Monaro Highway accident scene at Hume. Photo: Region Media.
UPDATED 11:00 am: A 19-year-old man died when a Toyota Corolla and a Honda sedan collided, likely at high speed, on a straight stretch of the Monaro Highway in the early hours of this morning, ACT Police say.
Speaking at a press conference at the accident site this morning as the heavily damaged vehicles were removed from the scene, Detective Inspector Donna Hoffmeier said that the other driver had been taken to hospital in a stable condition.
“Sadly today a 19-year-old man has lost his life on the Monaro Highway at Hume,” she said. “ACT Ambulance attended and the 19 year old was pronounced dead at the scene.”
The collision is believed to have occurred around 1.20am. A major accident investigation is continuing and the cause of the accident still forms part of the investigation.
The fatality is the fourth on ACT roads already this year, half of last year’s entire toll, a situation that Det Insp Hoffmeir described as “very disappointing”, adding that “ideally we’d like to have no road toll at all”.
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Detective Inspector Donna Hoffmeier speaking to the media this morning at the accident scene. Photo: Region Media.
Speed cameras and signage have been installed in both directions on the road and Det Insp Hoffmeier said ACT and NSW police would be collaborating on a major road safety campaign at Easter including strategies to curb excessive speeding.
She urged motorists to drive to conditions at all times, “day or night, in wet or dry weather”.
![Crash at Hume](https://the-riotact.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Image-from-iOS-1-810x608.jpg)
A man has lost his life and another is in hospital after a high-speed crash overnight. Photo: Region Media.
8 March, 10:00 am: A high-speed accident at Hume has left one man dead, another in hospital and has closed both southbound lanes of the Monaro Highway.
The accident is understood to have happened around 1:20 am, about 400-metres south of the Tralee St intersection with the Monaro Highway.
It’s the second fatal accident on the Monaro Highway this year.
ACT Policing says it appears one car vaulted the safety barrier, rolled and hit a tree. Both vehicles were extensively damaged by the impact, which occurred as they were travelling south on a straight section of the highway.
![Crash scene](https://the-riotact.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Image-from-iOS-2-e1615158450665-810x625.jpg)
A vehicle at the crash scene at Hume this morning. Photo: Region Media.
Investigators have been on the scene since the early hours of the morning. Protective screens were erected to shield the body from public view and light towers were called in to enable crash investigators to examine the incident site.
Police say both southbound lanes will be closed until at least lunchtime and southbound traffic will be diverted at Tralee St, Hume. Northbound traffic is unaffected.