A ONE-car crash in Paringa early Tuesday morning claimed the life of a passenger and left another two people in a serious condition.
Emergency services responded to the incident on the Sturt Highway, near the junction of Lindsay Point Road, just before 3am yesterday, where it is alleged a single vehicle had rolled over.
Two men, including the driver, were taken to the Riverland General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while one of the passengers tragically died at the scene.
The scene was attended by a number of police patrols, Renmark SES officers and Paringa CFS officers.
Murray Mallee Superintendent James Blandford said the incident was difficult for everyone involved.
“It is just horrible to see the carnage when vehicles crash,” he said.
“It’s really distressing for the cops, it’s distressing for the other emergency services that are obliged to show up, it’s horrible for the hospitals and the medical staff, and it’s terrible for the families because they can’t say goodbye.”
Mr Blandford said there currently seemed to be more carnage on South Australian roads than previously recorded.
“Quite frankly, we as a state and a community know we can reduce our road total because we’ve demonstrated it over the past 40 years,” he said.
A section of the Sturt Highway was closed to all traffic for several hours while the area was cleared.
Major Crash investigators are continuing to investigate the incident.