The Northern Territory’s road toll has risen to five after the death of a 36-year-old male yesterday near Beswick.
A single vehicle rollover was reported to the Joint Emergency Services Coordination Centre yesterday via a satellite phone when a passer-by found the vehicle in scrub off the Central Arnhem Highway.
Local police from Maranboy attended the scene where the male driver was found deceased. Three passengers were injured, with two med-evacced to Darwin and one taken to hospital in Katherine.
The Major Crash Investigation Unit travelled to the location from Darwin yesterday evening to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash. Enquiries are still in progress but at this stage it is believed that alcohol may have been a factor.
Commander Matt Hollamby from the Road Policing and Regional Support Command said that four or the five fatalities this year have been single vehicle rollovers, apparently caused by a combination of alcohol, driver distraction and failure to wear seatbelts.
“Police and emergency services continue to remind all road users to take responsibility for making the roads a safe place,” he said.
“People need to start being accountable for the Territory’s appalling road toll.
“So many of these crashes are preventable – we have seen too many people die because of the wrong decision being made.”
The road toll at this time last year was four.
