Young dad crushed to death by truck in NSW

A young father was instantly crushed to death when a 20-tonne truck toppled over and fell directly on top of his small sedan in Sydney’s southwest.

The accident, which left two other motorists hurt and dozens of witnesses traumatised, happened as the semi-trailer turned left off the busy Hume Highway onto the Cumberland Highway at Liverpool on Thursday morning.

The truck, carrying a shipping container full of timber, hit a median strip and fell onto the other side of the road, directly onto the small car waiting at traffic lights.

It crushed large parts of the silver vehicle down to about 50 centimetres.

The driver was a local man, said to be aged in his 20s, who died instantly.

Emergency services found children’s toys scattered on the back seat.

Nobody else was in the vehicle.

Crash investigator Stephen Blair said it was one of the worst accidents he’d ever seen.

“This rates at the top of the order, to see a horrific thing like this with the vehicle crushed nearly beyond recognition,” Inspector Blair said.

“This is a tragic event that’s happened once again on our roads – innocent people have been sitting in their cars and through no fault of their own have been hurt or killed.”

Two other cars, including a green Toyota Camry, hit the truck but narrowly escaped being crushed.

Occupants of those vehicles were taken to Liverpool Hospital suffering trauma, shock and minor injuries.

Insp Blair said the truck’s speed might have been a factor but it was too early to say definitively.

“The investigators have received some information, but that has to be verified,” he said.

Locals told AAP they regularly see trucks negotiating that corner too quickly.

“It happens all the time, they go too quickly and this is the result,” said one Australian-Italian man whose home is 100 metres from the crash site.

He didn’t want to be named.

The truck driver, a 46-year-old man, suffered chest injuries and was taken to Liverpool Hospital.

He is to undergo mandatory drug and alcohol testing and is to be interviewed by investigators on Thursday.

A large crowd gathered to watch as emergency services began the long process of clearing the scene.

The truck was lifted off the car just before 3pm (AEST) revealing the extensive damage it sustained.

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