SPEED is expected to be a contributing factor in a fatal accident which killed a Mount Gambier truck driver at Portland on Monday morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Portland police will prepare a report for the state coroner and officers said ton Tuesday the truck's speed approaching the corner was expected to be a significant contributing factor to the cause of the accident.
The truck driver in his 50s was driving a fully laden woodchip truck towards Portland just after 8am yesterday.
He failed to negotiate a bend on the Portland-Nelson Road between Roys Lane and the Broadway.
The truck left the road and rolled on to its side. The driver, who was the only occupant, was trapped in the cabin and died at the scene.
“You could call it a tight bend,” he said. “It’s incredibly sad. He headed off early with his lunch ready for work, but he won’t be returning home.” Sergeant Martin Flannery of Portland police said.
The stretch of road is well known for truck accidents.
Sergeant Flannery said a large number of emergency service personnel assisted police at the accident. He said two CFA units from Cashmore, two SES units and two Ambulance Victoria units, as well as their regional commander, attended.
The man’s death took the state’s road toll to 71, three more than the same time last year.
It’s the sixth death this year on the roads in the Warrnambool and Southern Grampians police service areas, which covers the Corangamite, Moyne, Glenelg, Southern Grampians and Warrnambool City local government areas.