Same tragic story, different weekend

The shocking spate of double fatalities on South West roads continued at the weekend when two women were killed on a notorious stretch of Bussell Highway near Ludlow. The State’s road toll grew further on Saturday when two people were killed in a single vehicle crash at Coolup. The tragic weekend started on Friday afternoon when two cars and a truck collided on Bussell Highway about 3.45pm. The crash involved a Toyota Hilux, a Volvo fuel tanker and a blue Mitsubishi Lancer sedan. Two women in the Mitsubishi Lancer driving south, a 58-year-old driver and her 51-year-old front passenger, identified as Isabel Hahnel and Natalie Jane Harding, died at the scene. A 54-year-old Glen Iris man who was allegedly driving the Toyota Hilux appeared in the Perth Magistrate’s Court on Sunday via video link charged with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and one count of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm. Two male passengers in the Hilux, aged 40 and 19 years old, received several injuries while the driver of the Volvo fuel tanker was not injured. About 28 hours later two teenagers were involved in a fatal crash about 100km south of Perth. Police said a Holden Commodore sedan was travelling along Brownes Road in Coolup about 8pm when it left the road and rolled several times. The 17-year-old girl driving the car died at the scene along with a 17-year-old boy. A 10-year-old boy was seriously injured in the crash and airlifted to Perth Children’s Hospital while another 17-year-old boy was flown to Royal Perth Hospital. South West district superintendent Geoff Stewart said there had been an unfortunate spate of double fatalities. “While those matters are still under investigation we are asking everyone to make sure they drive safely,” Supt Stewart said. “Don’t speed, don’t drink and drive, wear a seatbelt and just chill, you will get where you need to go without having to do anything risky. “Roads don’t drive cars, people do, and we need to make sure our road user behaviour is spot on, if everyone does that, there will be less risk...