Four dead after car, truck collide in Qld

Four people – all believed to be young women – have been killed after a car collided with a truck near Stanthorpe in southern Queensland.

They were all travelling in a vehicle that collided with a semi-trailer at a New England Highway intersection in the Southern Downs at about 5.30pm on Wednesday.

The women reportedly died on impact.

The truck driver has been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Assistant Commissioner Michael Condon said it was understood the women were all Korean backpackers.

“It was raining but it would appear this was a simple fail to give way and they moved out onto the highway and were struck on the driver’s side of the vehicle,” Mr Condon told News Corp.

“The truck and the vehicle continued down the road until the truck stopped.

“We are talking to the Korean consulate at the moment and working through the process [of informing the families].”

The four Korean backpackers had been in the country only for a few weeks and had been living at the farm they were working on.

Police on the scene described it as a “tragic set of circumstances”.

“The impact that this will have on the truck driver is certainly going to be an impact for the rest of his life,” Senior Sergeant Gerard Brady told Seven News.

Police are still trying to identify the victims.

Traffic had to be diverted as emergency crews assessed the damage on Wednesday night but the New England Highway has since re-opened.

Anyone with dashcam footage should contact police.