The cause of a horrific triple fatality that left only a 15-month-old girl alive may never be known, police say.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The first images of the head-on smash just north of Cooma on Saturday afternoon have emerged this morning.
They show the wrecks of the Honda and Subaru, which collided on the Monaro Highway while both travelling at 100km/h just before 2pm.
The crash killed the 67-year-old Farrer man driving the Honda and his passenger, a 67-year-old woman also from Farrer.
It also killed a 62-year-old Gowrie woman, who was driving the Subaru with her 15-month-old granddaughter in a capsule in the back seat.
Police say the exact cause of the crash will be ‘‘very, very difficult’’ to determine, given all occupants except the toddler were killed.
Witnesses have told police that one of the cars may have drifted into oncoming traffic on a gradual left hand bend in the highway.
Monaro Police Inspector Tony Hill said there was no evidence that excessive speed was a factor, but were investigating whether distraction or fatigue were involved.
The toddler was the only one to emerge from the wreckage alive.
Amazingly, she sustained just minor injuries, and was discharged from Canberra Hospital on the weekend. She is now in the care of her father.
Police have little doubt that the child restraint saved her life.
‘‘If there’s any positive out of it, the child restraint shows, in an impact that’s killed three adults with horrendous injuries, that a child survived with a minor injury, which is fantastic,’’ Inspector Hill said.
‘‘It’s good reinforcement that in a 200km/h impact, that child restraints, when they’re done up properly, work,’’ he said.
Inspector Hill said the tragedy highlighted the importance of using child restraints, and fitting them properly.
He said the Monaro Highway was experiencing high volumes of traffic at the moment.
A report is being prepared for the NSW Coroner.
