A coroner has exonerated a forestry van driver previously blamed for a crash that killed four workers, finding police wrongly concluded he had used cannabis and caused the accident.
The investigation revealed the van driver was sober and had been blinded by the oncoming truck’s headlights before colliding with its unlit trailer, which blocked his lane in darkness.
The coroner criticised the Serious Crash Unit for ignoring the lack of reflective material on the truck and questioned the integrity of blood sample handling, suggesting a possible labelling error.
All four men died from head injuries, and the case has been referred back to WorkSafe for further investigation into the safety failings and agency oversight.
Image credit: Andrik Langfield
Behavior on forestry roads is a problem
Apparently the trailer had no reflective markings with the van driver blinded by the oncoming log trucks headlights
Remoteness contributing to the problem
Between 2013 and 2023 51 forestry workers died on the job on or near forestry roads
The number of utes employed by forestry gangs is best described as a ‘disease’