CANBERRA, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- One child is dead and a teenager has been hospitalized in critical condition following a multi-vehicle crash involving an emu in South Australia (SA).
SA Police said in a statement on Sunday night that emergency services were called to reports of a three-car crash near the town of Nangwarry, 350 km southeast of Adelaide, at about 2:40 p.m. local time.
A five-year-old boy who was a passenger in one of the vehicles died at the scene, police said, and another passenger, a 15-year-old girl, was taken to hospital with critical injuries.
Police said the crash occurred when a black sedan carrying two people suddenly braked before colliding with an emu.
A station wagon braked to avoid the collision and a third car crashed into its rear.
The five-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl were both in the station wagon with a 42-year-old male driver, a 46-year-old woman, a 13-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy, all of whom were taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
Neither occupant of the sedan was injured and the driver of the third vehicle was taken to hospital as a precaution.
It takes the total death toll on South Australian roads in 2024 to 71.
Major crash officers were deployed to the scene to investigate the circumstances of the crash. ■
