Three people killed in crashes across regional WA, investigators travel to Pallinup, Binningup and Petrudor

Three more people have died on WA’s roads — bringing the number of people killed in fatal crashes to 11 in just six days — as Police Commissioner Col Blanch flags the prospect of having to boost the major crash squad if the horror run continues. Police say the first crash happened when a white Holden Colorado tray-top utility collided with a Kenworth truck towing two trailers in Petrudor, about 40km east of Dalwallinu, just after midday on Tuesday. The Holden’s driver, 65, was critically injured when the vehicles collided at the intersection of Petrudor Road and Pithara East Road. He was airlifted to Royal Perth hospital but later died. Police said the 25-year-old driver of the truck received minor injuries before he was taken to Dalwallinu Hospital. The next fatal crash happened when a white Citroen hatchback collided with a blue Nissan Dualis station wagon on Broomehill-Gnowangerup Road in Pallinup at 4.35pm on Tuesday. The 45-year-old male driver of the Citroen sustained critical injuries and died at the scene, about 5km south of Gnowangerup. The driver of the Nissan, a 26-year-old man, was seriously injured and was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital on the RAC Rescue helicopter. Less than three hours later, in Binningup, a 37-year-old man was killed when he was struck by a Nissan X-Trail while walking on Forrest Highway, about 29km north of Bunbury, about 7pm. The 49-year-old male driver of the Nissan was not injured. Mr Blanch said he was reviewing the number of officers in the major crash division. “(The numbers are) a constant review at the moment,” he said on Wednesday. “They’re managing the workload, but as we’ve seen in the last two weeks, I’ll probably have to reassess that.” Mr Blanch said major crash section was one of the “hardest” divisions in the WA Police Force. “Every day they are dealing with families suffering extreme trauma, witnessing things that no human should have to witness, and talking to witnesses of those crashes that I don’t think they will get over and will haunt them for the rest of their lives,” he said. “I offered them all the support we possibly can so they can continue to do the professional job they do for our community.” Mr Blanch said he was “frustrated” by the rising number of fatalities and pleaded with drivers to stop touching their mobile phones. “It’s not just about the deceased, it’s about their families, it’s about the first responders, it’s about the witnesses to those accidents,” he said. “Road deaths have so much consequential damage, it’s outrageous because most of them are preventable deaths. “We did 2.4 million breath tests on the road in the last 12 months (and gave out) more enforcement fines than ever before, but that message about picking up your phone and paying attention is still not getting through to some of our drivers. “My message to all drivers is to prioritise your life and the lives of others over what’s on your phone.” Since Thursday, 11 people have died in fatal crashes across the State, bringing WA’s road toll to 112. Major Crash investigators are urging anyone who saw or has information relating to either crash to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online here.