Taskforce chair and Murrumbidgee Council Mayor Ruth McRae OAM expressed sympathy to the families involved, and said it was now time for action to prevent more loss.
“Two families are facing the unimaginable loss of loved ones who will not be coming home.
“Friends, neighbours and entire communities are grieving, while others continue their recovery from injuries and trauma that can leave lasting impacts.
“This accident follows another serious incident on the Sturt Highway a week earlier near Darlington Point, highlighting the devastating toll road trauma continues to have on regional communities.”
The Sturt Highway is a vital east-west route connecting regional communities, industry and major freight networks across NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
As a growing freight network, some sections handle more than 300,000 trailer movements each year.
This is expected to increase as renewable energy projects continue to expand.
Road safety data reinforces the need for action.
Between July 2019 and June 2024, 277 crashes were recorded on the Sturt Highway, with almost one in five resulting in serious injury and more than five per cent proving fatal.
The taskforce has consistently advocated for investment, estimated at between $600 million and $800 million, to deliver long-term safety improvements.
“Sadly, families continue to receive the call that changes lives forever. Those families, their friends and the people who know and love them will carry this pain for years to come.
“Our communities are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for safe roads and fair investment.
“The Sturt Highway is becoming increasingly important to the nation’s freight and renewable energy future, yet communities along this corridor continue to shoulder the growing pressure without infrastructure keeping pace.
“One life lost on our roads is one too many. We cannot keep accepting repeated tragedy and then moving on as though it is simply part of living in regional Australia.
“We owe it to the families who have already lost loved ones, and to every person who travels this road each day, to do better.
“We urge every Australian, whether they live near the Sturt Highway or have ever travelled it, to contact their state and federal members of parliament and join the call for urgent investment before more lives are lost.”
