Three members of the same family died in the one car

Mohammed Sahid Shahidullah, 61, his wife Sultana Razia, 54, and their 21-year-old son Roni were all killed when the Toyota Yaris in which they were passengers collided with a Toyota Hiace van on Coppins Crossing Rd, Whitlam.

The fourth person and the driver of the Yaris, eldest son Anwar Jahid, 33, remains in a critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit at the Canberra hospital.

The family had arrived in Australia last month and had been visiting Mr Jahid and his wife in Canberra, taking a sight-seeing drive around the city when the incident occurred around 2.45pm on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Jahid and his wife came to Australia as permanent residents in 2021.

In a statement released late on Monday night, the Bangladeshi consular office said it was "profoundly shocked and saddened" to learn about the fatal car accident.

"The High Commission in association with Bangladesh Australia Association Canberra (BAAC) will render all possible assistance to the family," the statement said.

"May the departed souls rest in eternal peace."

The family is yet to decide about the funeral arrangements for the deceased.

The male driver of the Toyota Hiace which collided with the Yaris suffered non life-threatening injuries. A Canberra resident, he is understood to now have been released from hospital.

Investigators from the ACT police Major Collision squad are still attempting to determine the cause of the crash which occurred in fine weather and on a dry road.

Little evidence remains at the Coppins Crossing Rd crash scene which indicates the frenetic attempts that afternoon by police, ambulance and fire and rescue services personnel to save the lives of those trapped in the wreckage after the heavy impact.

Trampled grass, a discarded rubber glove used by one of the emergency services, a wrapping from an emergency resuscitation mask, an unopened discarded water bottle, together with broken glass and plastic debris are among the few visual reminders of the tragedy which occurred that afternoon.

It was Canberra's worst multiple road fatality in 12 years.

The force of the head-on impact between the two vehicles, with the Yaris travelling downhill toward the causeway and the Toyota Hiace van driving uphill toward Whitlam, pushed the smaller hatch up the roadside embankment. The roof of the Yaris was cut off as rescuers attempted to free those trapped inside.

The road where the crash occurred is a busy thoroughfare which links William Hovell Drive with the abbreviated Sir John Gorton Drive at Denman Prospect, in the Molonglo Valley.

At its northern end, the new dual carriageway of Sir John Gorton Drive services the fast-growing suburb of Whitlam.

But the four lanes finish just beyond Hazel Hawke Ave and narrow quickly into the two lanes of the old Coppins Crossing Rd, which then winds down the hill to the concrete causeway which crosses the Molonglo River.

The same occurs at the southern end, with the two sections of Sir John Gorton Drive incomplete and due to be joined by a new bridge spanning the river. Construction of the bridge, jointly funded by the ACT and Commonwealth governments, is due to start next year.

There are no posted speed limit signs evident on this part of the road, although it is a 60km/h zone.

Where the road abruptly narrows from four lanes into two, there are heavy deposits of gravel at the edges of the road.

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Any witnesses to the crash who have not yet spoken to police are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Canberra's road toll for 2022 now stands at 17, the worst in 12 years.

It was the worst multiple fatality in the ACT since March 2010 when four people died on Canberra Avenue when one car - a stolen Mazda heading into the ACT from Queanbeyan where the driver had come to the attention of NSW police - ploughed into the side of a turning Mazda 323 at high speed.

Four people died in that terrible crash, including a family of three who were completely blameless victims. One was a two-month-old baby boy in a capsule in the rear of the vehicle.

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