A 44-year-old truck driver has been charged with nine offences, including dangerous driving occasioning death, after an eight-year-old girl died and five others were injured when a truck ploughed into a rest area on the Hume Highway south of Sydney.
The man from Moss Vale appeared in Parramatta Local Court today, where his lawyer did not apply for bail. Bail was formally refused, and he will remain in custody until his next court appearance on July 15 at Campbelltown Court House.
Emergency services were called just after 3:00pm following reports that a B-double truck had crashed into several parked cars at the Partridge VC rest stop at Menangle. The young girl died at the scene, while three men and two women were taken to hospital with multiple fractures.
NSW Police Acting Superintendent Darren Sly said initial investigations indicate the B-double entered the rest stop and collided with another truck before hitting three parked cars. A number of people at the scene provided first aid until emergency services arrived.
“Words cannot describe how tragic this is, especially for the family who has lost a young child,” Acting Superintendent Sly said. “With the events of what's been happening with COVID and people trying to get out for the first time, it's tragic, an absolutely tragic loss.”
Crash investigators will remain at the scene to determine the cause of the crash. The driver was taken to hospital for mandatory testing before being charged at Campbelltown Police Station.
