Three women have died and several other people are in a serious condition following a devastating head-on collision between a Greyhound Bus and a four-wheel drive vehicle towing a caravan.
At approximately 11am on Sunday, a Greyhound bus carrying 33 passengers collided with a four-wheel drive that was towing a caravan, on the Bruce Highway, eight kilometres north of Gumlu.
Three women have been confirmed dead at the scene, including 56-year-old Grandma who is believed to have been travelling to Townsville with her daughter and four grandchildren.
On Tuesday Townsville Hospital and Health Service confirmed that four men remained in hospital. The two severely injured males, aged 23 and 22 were airlifted to hospital and remain in critical condition. The two other males, aged 27 and 51 are both stable. Three other passengers were discharged on Sunday.
An RACQ CQ Rescue spokesperson stated, “the first patient was flown from the accident at Gumlu to Ayr Hospital. The second was flown from the scene directly to Townsville hospital in a critical condition.”
A spokesperson from Queensland Police Services stated, that there is currently no speculation surrounding the incident, and no blame being attributed to date. Multiple crews from Townsville and Mackay as well as local officers attended the scene alongside QAS ambulance, RACQ CQ rescue services and Queensland Fire and Rescue Services.
Graeme Paine, Queensland Police Superintendent, mentioned that the bus was travelling north and the car was traveling south, with all fatalities and injuries occurring among the passengers on the bus.
Superintendent Paine, described the crash as “very, very confronting.”
“A very significant impact, and very significant consequences,” he added.
The Bruce Highway re-opened that evening around midnight, after being closed for 13 hours, from 11am Sunday when the crash took place.
The vehicles, crashed near the Queensland Rail’s North Coast rail line between Bobawaba and Gumlu, with the bus partially on the tracks, impacting the rail corridor. Queensland Rail has confirmed that the rail line reopened on Monday.
“Queensland Rail crews arrived onsite this morning and completed necessary repair works, including sleeper replacements and track realignment.”
Six fire trucks attended the scene and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, confirmed that whilst there was no fire present at the scene, there were, “several entrapments,” with individuals having to be rescued from the bus.
From 1 January 2023 to 31 May 2024, there have been 287 road fatalities in Queensland alone and in Australia totally, 1,301 fatalities. The Queensland Police Service urges individuals to remember the Fatal Five driving rules when on the roads: speeding, drink driving, failing to wear seatbelts and driving while tired or distracted. All of the Fatal Five driving rules are major contributors to lives lost on our roads and are all avoidable.
