Two children have been rushed to hospital along with a man and woman in their 50s after a horrific crash on a major freeway.
Emergency crews rushed to the M1 Pacific Motorway at Helensvale at the northern end of Queensland’s Gold Coast, after a Mitsubishi Triton ute collided with the rear end of a police car at 1.20pm on Friday.
The crash happened near Exit 62 and members of the police, ambulance and fire departments were quickly on scene to help the four injured people to escape.
A 55-year-old male police officer, the 54-year-old female driver of the ute and her two-year-old passenger sustained serious injuries.
Four people, including a child under 10, have been rushed to hospital in serious condition after a major crash on the M1 Pacific Motorway at Helensvale, Queensland
A spokesperson for Queensland Police said that the police car had stopped on the side of the motorway before the collision
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson said four people were in serious but stable condition after they were transported to Gold Coast University Hospital.
Among the injured was a two-year-old girl who sustained facial injuries, another girl aged under 10 with a leg laceration, and the two drivers in their 50s.
The police officer had chest and abdominal injuries and the woman had leg injuries.
A Queensland Police Service spokesman said the police car had stopped on the side of the motorway and was performing traffic duties before being struck.
The vehicle was not in pursuit of anyone at the time, the spokesman confirmed.
Photos of the car show that its entire rear end has been crushed into the cabin of the vehicle.
A third car which had stopped to offer assistance was also involved in the crash but nobody from that vehicle was injured.
The Forensic Crash Unit is now investigating the three-vehicle crash.
Traffic congestion has mounted in the area and stretches as far back as Dreamworld at Coomera
Two southbound lanes of traffic remain closed near the crash site and congested traffic is now reaching the Dreamworld location at Coomera as the wreckage is cleared.
Police have urged all motorists to avoid the area for the time being.
‘Motorists heading south are urged to avoid the area or expect long delays,’ the spokesperson said.
Witnesses to the crash said that they saw the ute slam into the back of the police car.
Kate Rootsey told the Courier Mail that she saw one of the officers trapped in the police vehicle as she drove past.
‘It looks like someone ran into a police car and it looked badly smashed,’ she said.
‘I could see the police officer in the vehicle.’
Mr Rootsey added that a number of drivers were slowing down to look at the wreckage as they drove past, causing more traffic congestion.
Meanwhile, roughly an hour later on the other side of Brisbane, Fire and Emergency Services responded to a single vehicle crash on Caboolture River Road at Upper Caboolture at 2:30pm.
A car had crashed into a tree and multiple ambulance crews and police were seen on the scene.
It is believed there are serious injuries.
More to come.