Drivers not “hearing the message”: top cop

The South West’s top cop says drivers are not “hearing the message” following an horrific double fatality on Forrest Highway last week.

The car involved in the crash on Friday morning was so badly damaged, emergency services could not initially confirm how many people were inside the vehicle.

It was not until firefighters cut open the car that officers confirmed a man and a woman – both in their 20s – had died.

The crash occurred about 6.30am when police say the silver Holden Astra left the road “at speed” and crashed into a tree near Treasure Road in Parkfield.

A truck driver was the first to come across the horrific scene and told police the car had sped past his vehicle a short time earlier.

Police said the truck driver saw only a cloud of dust from the road, before pulling over and finding the car wrapped around a tree.

Police were yet to release the identity of those killed in the crash, but said the same car avoided a random breath test stop in Busselton just hours earlier.

When officers tried to stop the vehicle about 3am on Peel Terrace in Busselton, police believed three people were in the car.

Police were concerned a third person was in the crushed back seat of the car after the crash.

Major Crash officers are investigating the incident, but South West District Police Supt Mick Sutherland said it was clear speed was a factor.

Supt Sutherland described the double fatality as a “shock” and “tragedy” for the region.

“I think the story is the same that I keep saying for the South West – we don’t have a very good track record, but what I can see is that speed is definitely involved in this one,” Supt Sutherland said.

“It’s driver behaviour, people have to start driving to conditions.

“There’s nothing wrong with the roads, all the cars are lethal weapons and people need to start driving to the conditions.

“This is a shock – the ramifications to the wider community, the families, on a straight, really good section of highway in a vehicle, we have a tragedy like this.

“Everyone knows the story, the story is the same, the message is the same, driver behaviour, driver distraction and I just ask people to slow down.”

Officers are asking drivers to check any dash cam vision and anyone with information on the crash can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.