A woman in her 80s has died and two men remain in hospital after a head-on crash on the East Derwent Highway at Old Beach, north of Hobart, yesterday.
The crash happened around 1:35pm on Monday near Riviera Drive.
Acting Inspector Nick Bowden said the woman was the front-seat passenger in a blue Nissan Qashqai heading south when it collided with a silver Great Wall SUV travelling north.
The Nissan’s driver, a man in his 50s, remains in a critical condition at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
The Great Wall’s driver, a man in his 20s, was initially listed as critical but has since stabilised.
Bowden said at least one of the cars crossed the centre line before the crash.
Two people in the Nissan were initially trapped and bystanders provided first aid before emergency services arrived.
Bowden described it as a “very confronting scene”. He said it was too early to say whether speed, drugs or alcohol were factors.
Even at or below the 80km/h speed limit, he said, a head-on crash could have devastating consequences.
“The catastrophic outcomes from these sort of events [will] live in people’s minds and in people’s memories for a long time to come,” he said.
Bowden said the impact extended to police, paramedics and emergency services workers who responded.
The woman’s death takes Tasmania’s road toll to 25 and comes days after three people were killed in a crash on the Bass Highway last Friday.
Four others were taken to hospital, with three still in a critical condition.
Bowden said “four deaths in the last four days is four too many” and some drivers were “still not getting the message”.
On Tuesday morning, police carried out an enforcement operation on the same stretch of the East Derwent Highway.
Officers caught 19 drivers speeding in the 80km/h zone in two hours. One was clocked at 112km/h and fined $639 and given five demerit points.
Bowden described the driving, a day after the fatal crash, as “reckless and inconsiderate of other road users”.
Police are still investigating the cause of the crash and will prepare a report for the coroner.
