Lucky escapes on region’s roads

A SPATE of car accidents across the North West in the past three days has police pleading for motorists to take regular rest breaks and to drive to the road conditions.

Between Saturday and yesterday there were four accidents on Oxley Local Area Command (LAC) roads – although none were fatal.

Yesterday about 9am a 70-year-old male driver was injured and complaining of chest pains after his car, which was towing a trailer, left the Oxley Highway and rolled down an embankment, about 60km east of Walcha.

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter treated the man at the scene and flew him to Tamworth hospital, where he was yesterday treated for minor injuries.

It was initially believed the driver was trapped in the car, but ambulance officers later discovered that wasn’t the case.

About 1.30am yesterday, the three passengers and the 19-year-old female driver of a car were lucky to escape injury after a near-miss with a kangaroo.

The group was travelling north on Rushes Creek Rd near Lake Keepit.

At a left-hand bend in the road, while trying to avoid hitting the marsupial, the driver locked up the brakes, causing the car to spin 180 degrees and come to a stop in a ditch off the side of the road.

All of the passengers were able to get out of the car. The driver and two of the passengers were able to take themselves to Tamworth hospital for observation, but no injuries were reported.

A mandatory blood sample was taken from the driver for alcohol testing.

Police are investigating the nature of the accident.

Yesterday morning, a female driver was involved in an accident on Longarm Rd, north-west of Manilla. Ambulance and police were called to the scene but the driver reportedly didn’t suffer any major injuries. No further details were available at press time yesterday.

At 7.20pm on Sunday, a 37-year-old female driver suffered minor injuries after the car she was driving smashed into a power pole on the corner of Hope St and the Oxley Highway at Carroll.

The vehicle left the road after the driver appeared to have over-corrected her steering. She was taken to Tamworth hospital.

Oxley LAC Sergeant Martin Burke urged motorists to make use of Driver Reviver spots and to rest if they were tired.