Junee workers airlifted following horror high-speed crash

UPDATE 8:30AM: All three men injured in Monday afternoon’s horror high-speed rollover near Junee have either already been airlifted or are expected to be flown to hospitals in Canberra and Sydney for specialist treatment.

Emergency services were called to Byrnes Road at Harefield, just before 3pm on November 3, after an older-model white Toyota sedan left the 100km/h road and rolled multiple times, eventually coming to rest on its roof.

A fleet of emergency vehicles from across the region responded to the scene, which was described as confronting.

Photo: David Johnson/Facebook

In an overnight update, a NSW Police spokesperson confirmed that three men were travelling in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

All three are believed to be employees of the Junee abattoirs and had left work only minutes earlier. They were reportedly travelling to Wagga when the crash occurred.

Police said the 41-year-old driver and his 25-year-old front-seat passenger both sustained serious injuries, while a 42-year-old man seated in the rear was trapped in the wreckage with life-threatening injuries.

The two front occupants were freed from the vehicle quickly and assisted by passers-by before emergency crews arrived.

Both were treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics and transported by road to Wagga Base Hospital with serious injuries, including head lacerations and suspected spinal damage.

The 42-year-old rear passenger remained trapped for approximately 40 minutes before being extricated by local rescue crews.

He is believed to have suffered a significant head injury, including multiple deep lacerations.

Specialist paramedics treated the man at the scene before he was airlifted to Canberra Hospital in a critical condition by the Toll Ambulance Rescue Helicopter, which landed on Byrnes Road around 4:25pm.

Police have since been told that the other two occupants were also expected to be airlifted to Sydney overnight for further specialist treatment.

Both are reportedly in a serious condition, suffering multiple fractures and suspected spinal injuries.

The crash sparked a major emergency response involving NSW Police, multiple RFS units, several ambulance crews, and the Junee Volunteer Rescue Association.

A crime scene was declared, and Byrnes Road remained closed for several hours on Monday evening while officers from the Crash Investigation Unit conducted a thorough examination of the scene.

6:00 PM MONDAY: BYRNES Road was closed to all traffic and expected to remain shut for several hours on Monday evening, following a serious high-speed crash at Harefield, just south of Junee.

Emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 3pm on Monday, November 3, after a vehicle carrying at least three men left the 100km/h road and rolled onto its roof.

The incident sparked a major emergency response, with multiple NSW Rural Fire Service units, several ambulances, police, and the Junee Volunteer Rescue Association attending the scene.

Three occupants of the vehicle — all men reportedly aged in their 20s and 40s — sustained varying injuries and were treated by paramedics.

Two of them were transported to Wagga Base Hospital in stable but serious conditions with head lacerations and suspected hip, back and neck injuries.

A third man, believed to have been a passenger, was trapped inside the wreckage for approximately 40 minutes before being cut free by rescue crews.

He is believed to have suffered a significant head injury and was treated and stabilised at the scene by specialist paramedics before being airlifted to hospital.

The Toll Ambulance Rescue Helicopter was deployed from Canberra and landed on Byrnes Road around 4:25pm.

The man was expected to be flown to the nearest major trauma centre for treatment of serious head lacerations.

Photo: Facebook/Junee Rescue Squad

Byrnes Road remained closed in both directions at 6pm, with the Crash Investigation Unit requested to attend and examine the scene.

The road was expected to remain closed into Monday evening.

Motorists are urged to avoid the area, with those travelling between Junee and Wagga advised to use the Olympic Highway.

It’s the second serious crash on Byrnes Road in as many months.

In September, an SUV carrying five people, including three children, left the same stretch of road and rolled into a tree. Read more on that story, here.