Crash claims life

MARIE Ellis, 56, became the sixth person to die on the stretch of the Warrego Highway between Toowoomba and Plainland in just three months.

Ms Ellis was killed in an horrific two-car crash at Crowley Vale, near Gatton, at 9.15pm on Wednesday night.

Regional Traffic co-ordinator for the Southern Police Region Lyle Mitchell said the tragic incident underlined a “shocking” night on the region's roads.

He said early investigations indicated the crash occurred after one of the vehicles failed to give way at the Crowley Vale intersection on the highway.

The driver of the other car, a 40-year-old woman from Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in Toowoomba with non life-threatening injuries.

Inspector Mitchell said there had been an increased level of police enforcement on the section of the highway between Toowoomba and Plainland since April through Operation Burnet.

“We have been putting in hundreds of extra police hours on that section,” Insp. Mitchell said.

Insp. Mitchell said the drivers in each of the three serious crashes on Wednesday night were from the local region.

Story courtesy of the Toowoomba Chronicle