Featured Story News

Locals say fatal crash inevitable

PICNIC Point residents living near a notorious hair-pin turn off Henry Lawson Drive, say Saturday’s fatal collision was only a matter of time.
Emergency services were called to Henry Lawson Drive after a crash between a motorcycle and a four-wheel drive at 1.20pm.
The motorcyclist, an 87-year-old man, was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition but died a short time later, while the driver of the car, a 40-year-old man, who was uninjured, also went to hospital for mandatory testing.


Nearby resident Paul Bonnici said while it was tragic, it was “absolutely inevitable” that there would be a serious crash or fatality at the site.
He and his neighbours, who use a service road to access their properties along 909 to 921 Henry Lawson Drive, want a convex mirror to be installed to let them view oncoming northbound traffic while performing a left turn onto the main road.
“The council and RMS keep passing the issue between them. It’s like a game of tennis,” Mr Bonnici said.
“No-one wants to take responsibility.”
There is a mirror on the southern side of the road, but in a reply to the residents’ request for one on the north side, Transport for NSW told them last month that the mirrors were considered “generally ineffective and sometimes unsafe” and could give drivers a false sense of distance and speed of oncoming traffic.
Supporting the refusal, a response from the Canterbury Bankstown Council also noted recent improvements made to the service road, along with a safety assessment, but said there were no funds for additional road widening works but it would be considered in future works programs.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash, and a report will be prepared for the NSW Coroner.