FOUR people are dead and one remains in a critical condition following a horror three-vehicle crash on the Great Western Highway on Saturday afternoon.
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The crash has closed the highway at Glanmire, about 10km east of Bathurst, for several hours.
Inspector Mark Wall from Chifley local area command said it appears a car travelling west towards Bathurst crossed to the wrong side of the road, sparking a tragic chain reaction that also involved another car and a truck.
“Police were called to the accident at 1.40pm,” Inspector Wall told the Western Advocate at the scene of the crash.
“A blue Toyota Camry has been heading westerly towards Bathurst and early indications suggest it was travelling in the left-hand lane and veered across the road onto the incorrect side.
“It collided with a Mitsubishi Triton that was heading easterly.
"Behind the Triton was a semi-trailer which has taken evasive action and appears to have collided with the Mitsubishi Triton and pushed it down the road before going off into a paddock.”
Inspector Wall said the three occupants of the Camry - two women and one man believed to be aged in their 70s - died at the scene, along with a 30 to 40-year-old passenger in the Triton.
“The driver of the Triton was trapped for nearly two hours before being released by emergency services,” Inspector Wall said.
“He has been transferred to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition.
“The driver of the truck was taken by ambulance to Bathurst Hospital suffering shock and is assisting police with our inquiries. He was not otherwise hurt.”
Inspector Wall said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash, or what may have caused the Camry to cross to the wrong side of the road.
“At this stage, investigations are continuing in relation to that but it doesn’t appear road or weather conditions have been factors,” he said.
“We have crash investigators on the scene as well as Bathurst police to conduct the investigation to determine the cause of the crash.”
Inspector Wall would not elaborate on the Triton driver’s injuries, saying only that they had been deemed life-threatening and the man had been stabilised at the scene before being taken to Westmead.
He confirmed no children had been involved in the crash.