A teenager has died and three other people have been hospitalised following a serious crash in the Hobart CBD overnight.
The 18-year-old was a passenger in a ute that was travelling north on the Brooker Highway through the railway roundabout when it collided with a car turning onto the road from Bathurst Street around 4am on Sunday.
Acting Inspector Jason Klug said early information suggests the ute “may have disobeyed a traffic signal”, a line of inquiry that will be looked into by investigators, alongside speed, alcohol and the wearing of seatbelts.
“Investigators will explore all avenues through their crash investigation. They’ll speak with witnesses, other drivers involved and occupants of the vehicles involved at the time,” Klug said.
All the occupants of the ute are thought to be from the Hobart area and aged 18.
The drivers of both vehicles and another passenger who was in the ute at the time are receiving treatment in the Royal Hobart Hospital for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
“Any road trauma, whether it be a fatality or serious injury, has wider implications,” Klug said.
“Our condolences go out to the family of this young man and the broader community that no doubt will be affected by what’s occurred last night.”
“We of course urge people to slow down, take that extra couple of minutes to get home. Drive to the conditions, remember the fatal five, including seatbelts, speeding, alcohol and drugs, inattention and distraction.”
“We have been liaising with the family of the young man involved and a report will be prepared for the coroner.”
The incident marks the third fatality on Tasmanian roads this weekend, after a motorcycle crash on the east coast claimed the lives of two men on Saturday.
Earlier: A teenager has died and several others have been left seriously injured following a crash on Hobart’s Brooker Highway overnight.
Emergency services were called to the intersection of Bathurst Street and the highway in the Hobart CBD around 4am on Sunday.
Police said the 18-year-old passenger from Hobart was killed in the crash and two others travelling in the same car were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The driver of the other car involved was also seriously injured.
The Brooker Highway remains closed in both directions at the Bathurst Street intersection while police investigate the crash, with diversions in place at the railway roundabout.
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash to come forward.
