12 November 2024

Truck driver faces additional charges over Riverina Highway crash

| Shri Gayathirie Rajen
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Albury Local Court

A truck driver is set to face Albury Local Court later this week with additional charges following a serious crash near Albury. Photo: Vanessa Hayden.

Murray River Police have laid additional charges against a truck driver following a serious crash in the Riverina earlier this year.

Police said emergency services responded to reports of a collision involving a truck towing a trailer and a utility along the Riverina Highway at Splitters Creek, about 8 km west of Albury, shortly before 7 am on 24 June.

The 64-year-old utility driver was trapped in the vehicle until emergency services personnel freed him.

NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the man at the scene before he was taken to Albury Hospital in a critical condition before being transferred to the Royal Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

The 51-year-old truck driver sustained minor injuries and was taken to the same hospital for mandatory testing before being transported to Albury Police Station.

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Murray River Police District officers established a crime scene, which was later examined by specialists from the Crash Investigation Unit.

Police allege that the truck was towing a telehandler (a vehicle used in construction and agriculture) when the trailer rolled, causing the load to come loose and collide with the utility.

The truck driver was charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm (drive manner dangerous), negligent driving (occasioning grievous bodily harm), and towing an unsafe vehicle.

Following inquiries, on Saturday (9 November), police laid additional charges, including driving a vehicle with an unsecured load, using a heavy vehicle with defective brakes, and using a heavy vehicle with no registered configuration.

The man remains on conditional bail and is due to appear in Albury Local Court on Wednesday (13 November).

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