Fatal crashes take a 'terrible' toll

[Snorzac]

From CT, bus involved appears to be 354

A ''TERRIBLE day'' on Canberra's roads has left two people dead and   police fearing that the ACT is on track for its worst road toll in   recent memory.In the space of just 40 minutes, two people lost their   lives in separate accidents on local roads yesterday.
Just before   9am, a 35-year-old motorcycle rider from Kingston was killed instantly   when his Harley Davidson collided with a tradesman's ute at the   intersection of Canberra Avenue and Ipswich Street, Fyshwick.
Less   than an hour later a 49-year-old Richardson man  was killed instantly   when his white Holden ute veered on to the wrong side of the road and   crashed head-on into an Action bus.
There were no skid marks at   the scene on Erindale Drive, Wanniassa, leading police to believe that a   momentary lapse in concentration cost the driver his life.
His   body was trapped in the wreckage, forcing emergency services to cut him   free before he could be identified. None of the bus's five passengers   aged from 13 to 49 was injured, but the driver was taken to Canberra   Hospital suffering shock.
The accidents prompted pleas from police   and motorcycle riders for drivers to be more aware.
ACT Policing   acting superintendent Stephen Cooke called on drivers not to be   complacent, calling Saturday a ''terrible day'' for road safety.
''To   have two people killed within 40 minutes is particularly traumatic and   that brings our road toll to 17 so far this year.
''Our worst road   toll in recent times is 25 in 2005 and if we keep going like this we're   not only going to meet that, we're going to exceed it by quite a bit.''
Superintendent   Cooke said the community needed to be more aware while on the roads.
''I   don't think it's any secret that the cause of collisions generally is   due to driver error,'' he said.
The Sunday Canberra Times   understands the motorcycle rider was on his way to work at Robbo's   Motorcycles in Fyshwick, less than a kilometre from where he died.
Motorcycle   Riders Association ACT spokesman Pete Major saw the accident scene on   his way to visit Robbo's and was forced to deliver the bad news to the   close-knit team. ''The mood at Robbo's was extremely sombre,'' he said.
''These   are tough blokes and they were moved to tears.
''They are going   to be seeking counselling for staff that want it.''
Mr Major   begged drivers to be on the lookout for motorcycle riders.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/fatal-crashes-take-a-terrible-toll/1888351.aspx

BEFORE ANYONE THINKS ABOUT REPLYING; NO SPECULATING, NO POINTING THE FINGER, ETC

[belcodriver]

I drove past the Fyshwick accident scene about 1530 and they were just loading the bike onto a tow truck.

[Sir Pompously]

Was wondering what was going on when I was heding home from work, as I saw a fire truck leaving the scene at Fyshwick (It had turned off its lights when it reached the Monaro Hwy, so I thought it was attending a call at the AMC again).

Have now locked this thread.