Ten people have died in five road crashes across Queensland since Friday night, prompting a warning from the state’s peak motoring body of a worsening road toll.
Live updates, reactions and contributions from ABC readers.
1m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:34am
Too early to comment on cause
Superintendent Cavanagh says it’s too early to know what caused either of the accidents but forensic crash investigations are continuing.
“I think at this moment if we were to speculate on causation it’s probably unfair to family and friends and far too early in the investigation,” he said.
He encouraged drivers to pay attention to conditions and to give 100 per cent of their attention to the road when behind the wheel.
5m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:31am
Four dead in Mackay region
Three teenagers died in a crash on Friday night, while a fourth person, a motorcylist in his 40s, died on Saturday morning.
Superintendent Dean Cavanagh described the incidents as “tragic” and acknowledged the impact the deaths would have on the broader community.
11m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:25am
Police providing update on Mackay crash
We’ll leave Rockhampton now and head to Mackay where police are also speaking following a crash on Friday night which claimed the lives of three teenagers.
16m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:19am
Family returning from camping trip
Police believe the family in the Commodore was returning home from a camping trip while the two men in the ute may have been travelling for work.
18m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:17am
Too early to discuss charges
Inspector Wiltshire wouldn’t say whether police intend to lay any charges over the investigation or “lay blame”.
“We need to conduct a thorough investigation,” he said.
19m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:16am
Investigations to continue
Police say at this stage they don’t know exactly what caused the crash, beyond it being a head-on collision.
Inspector Wiltshire says it’s not clear which vehicle crossed over into the other lane.
21m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:15am
‘High-speed’ crash
Inspector Wiltshire is describing the scene of the crash.
He says it was “very high-speed” and there had been “significant damage” to both vehicles and fire involved.
“The injuries to the people involved were horrific”.
22m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:13am
Appeal for witnesses
Anyone with dashcam vision or any other information is asked to come forward.
23m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:13am
Police redoubling road safety efforts
Drivers are being urged to drive to conditions, not to speed and to ensure they’re well-rested before driving.
24m agoMon 21 Jul 2025 at 12:12am
‘Heartbreaking’
Inspector Wiltshire says the tragedy was “heartbreaking” and urged drivers to be vigilant on the state’s roads.
“A split second can have lifelong consequences,” he says.
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The recent tragedies take Queensland’s road toll to 158 so far this year, with fears 2025 could end up surpassing last year’s total of 302, which was the highest in 15 years.
Three of the five fatal crashes over the weekend were in central Queensland.
On Sunday morning, emergency services were called to the Capricorn Highway, between Comet and Blackwater, in the Central Highlands, as two vehicles had crashed and caught fire.
Four people died at the scene and two men in their 20s are in a serious condition in Brisbane and Emerald hospitals.
In the Mackay region, three teenagers died after a head-on collision on the Mackay Ring Road in Glenella on Friday night.
The driver, aged 29, was taken to Mackay Base Hospital in a serious condition.
Debris scattered on the Mackay Ring Road after three teenagers died in a head-on collision on Friday night. (ABC Tropical North: Liam O’Connell)
On Saturday morning, a 45-year-old motorcyclist died after he crashed into a ute and trailer stopped in front of him at Mount Pleasant, in Mackay.
Further south, an 18-year-old Kingaroy man died in Hivesville, in the South Burnett region, on Sunday morning when he was struck by a vehicle while lying on the road, police say.
On Friday night, emergency services were called to Tamborine, in the Scenic Rim, to reports a man had fallen out of a car.
A 26-year-old man sustained critical injuries and died at the scene.
Growing concerns for worsening road toll
There have been 158 fatalities from Queensland road crashes so far this year.
Michael Kane, head of public policy for Queensland’s peak motoring body RACQ, said the latest tragedies meant the state was heading towards equalling or exceeding last year’s road toll.
There were 302 road crash fatalities in 2024 in Queensland — the highest in 15 years.
“So many lives have been lost and so many other lives have been terribly impacted,” Dr Kane said.
“We need to do better because every time we have these tragic deaths the community suffers.”
Michael Kane says there is a need for more policing, better roads and a safer driving culture. (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)
Dr Kane said the growing road toll showed we had a lot of work to do as a community to turn it around.
“There is no reason why we should accept a worsening road toll for a number of years; it was getting better,” he said.
Dr Kane said while there was a need for safer roads and better maintenance, particularly in regional areas, there also needed to be a focus on safer road culture.
“We are driving at high speeds, we think our cars are cocoons, but if we crash at a high speed or if we’re doing the wrong thing in the way we drive, we can change and lose our life… or cause the loss of life of someone else as a random person or someone we love,” he said.
“Take driving seriously; it needs to be seen as a high-risk activity.”
RACQ is also calling for better traffic policing, following survey results which showed the public thought there wasn’t enough police presence on the roads.
Dr Kane said there had been a decline in the statistics of random roadside breath and drug testing since 2023.
“We have seen in the last 12 months that start to change and the Queensland government has had a focus on getting more police into the police force and getting more random breath and drug tests, but that needs to step up,” he said.
“But these changes can’t be made overnight.”