Children trapped for hours after horror fatal crash

A man and a child have died in a horrific early morning crash while on their way to a relative’s home on NSW’s Mid North Coast.

Emergency services rushed to The Buckets Way at Tugrabakh on reports of a single vehicle crash about 3am.

A SUV left the road and crashed into an embankment, the police said.

“The male driver of the vehicle, believed to be aged in his 40s, and an 11-year-old girl were found dead at the scene,” the police said.

“Two young boys, ages unknown, were trapped in the vehicle for some time, before being extricated with assistance from NSW Fire and Rescue crews.

“They were treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to John Hunter Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.”

The victims of the crash are yet to be formally identified, but police were told were on their way to a relative’s home.

When they failed to arrive, police were contacted and commenced an investigation.

Manning Great Lakes Police District Chief Inspector Timothy Bayly said it was not yet clear how long the children had been trapped in the wreckage.

“At this stage, we do not know what time the accident actually occurred,” he said.

“That will all be part of the investigation, but they were able to be released.”

Inspector Bayly said police received the initial call about 1am and that police on patrol searching for the vehicle located about two hours later.

Officers have since established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

As investigations continue, police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after reports the vehicle may have been involved in a minor crash earlier in the region.

A report will also be prepared for the Coroner.

NSW has now recorded 269 deaths on the road for 2024.