The police have warned drivers to be careful on NSW roads after collisions caused seven deaths, as well as car accident injuries for two others.
ABC reports that on August 26, labelled Black Monday, the fatalities all occurred within ten hours of each other.
It ranks as one of the heaviest death tolls in a single day due to car accidents in the state’s history, which would normally be more expected during the peak holiday season.
‘Shock’ at deaths
John Hartley, assistant commissioner of the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, admitted he was shocked at the deaths.
“It’s nothing I expected, a day like yesterday. Nothing different to any other day,” he stated.
“Three crashes killing four people involved cars leaving roads and hitting trees, so we assume something has gone wrong in the vehicle, whether it’s speed, fatigue or some other factor we’re still to investigate.”
Another two people died on a small motorbike after allegedly cutting through inner-city traffic, he added, something that should have never happened.
An 84-year-old man was also killed when hit by a car at Banora Point in the state’s northern region.
According to Mr Hartley, the news is definitely a warning to other drivers to remain safe on the road.
Despite the high number of deaths, the toll could have been even higher, with two 19-year-old men lucky to escape with their lives after crashing into a power pole in Sydney’s south-west in the evening.
While the passenger was able to escape quickly, the driver remained trapped for some time. The pair were taken to hospital suffering from minor car accident injuries.
Driver warnings
NSW police operations manager detective-inspector Phillip Brooks told the Sydney Morning Herald that it should be a wake-up call for drivers.
“At seven deceased, it’s certainly been a very difficult day for police and it’s certainly proof of what can go wrong even in perfect weather,” he explained.
The detective-inspector admitted he had never experienced a similar day in his 35 years of policing.
“It is incumbent upon drivers to slow down and to drive to the road conditions, whatever they are,” he urged.
“It’s certainly a challenging day. It’s unheard of.”
While higher death tolls due to car-related accidents have occurred in NSW, these have usually involved buses or other large vehicles crashing, causing multiple deaths in the same incident.