A man will be airlifted from the Hume Highway at Wilton following an accident between a car and a truck.
Initial reports indicate the man, 31, was travelling south when his car collided with a truck on approach to the Picton Road exit, about 2.45pm. He suffered head, neck and chest injuries.
A NSW Ambulance rescue chopper landed on the highway a short time ago.
The crash has caused lengthy traffic queues and the closure of all southbound lanes.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area.
A driver escaped without injury on Monday afternoon after his truck collided with guard rails and flipped into a tree on the Hume Highway, near Parkesbourne.
The single-vehicle crash brought southbound traffic to a standstill for about an hour at Wollogorang, while emergency services attended the scene.
A single lane was reopened to holiday traffic as cleanup continued into the late afternoon.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Sergeant Rod Cranston said the incident came down to “inattention”.
“It was the driver’s inattention to do something while driving that caused the vehicle to collide with the guard rail, clip the next guard rail and then go down the cattle livestock underpass, go over the edge and flip into a tree,” he told the Post.
While initially tasked to the scene, the Snowy Hydro SouthCare helicopter was not required.
Sgt Cranston confirmed the driver “did not have a scratch on him”.
Firearms Squad detectives have arrested a woman for firearm possession after investigations into the alleged theft of guns by two men impersonating police officers in the Hunter region last year.
About 8.30am on Wednesday 29 October 2014, a property owner at Clarence Town was approached by two men at his home who purported to be plain clothes police officers.
Detectives were told two revolvers were stolen from the premises, with those firearms recovered during a search warrant at Mayfield East the following day.
Three men, aged 28, 29 and 32, remain before the court on related charges.
Yesterday morning (Monday 29 June 2015), Firearms Squad detectives arrested a 30-year-old woman at Waratah Police Station.
She was charged with two counts of possessing an unauthorised pistol and granted conditional bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court on Thursday 6 August 2015.
Police from Sydney City Local Area Command shut down a dance party at a club last night in Sydney.
During the evening of Sunday 28 June 2015, emergency services were called on a number of occasions to an organised dance party at a club on George Street, Sydney, after reports of alleged drug overdoses.
At 9.40pm, that evening, officers were again called to the location after reports a 50-year-old woman was in need of medical treatment.
Police attended and two patrons were conveyed by ambulance to hospital, while a number of others were removed from the premises under the effects of what is believed to be prohibited drugs.
Investigators spoke to the licensee and, under agreement, the dance party was shut down early and all patrons removed.
The incident is now being investigated by Sydney City Local Area Command Licensing officers and ALEC.
Livestock producers in southern NSW are ramping up their fight against wild dogs with baiting, trapping and donkeys all part of the arsenal.
Rob and Sally Bulle introduced donkeys to their Holbrook property “Ardrossan” two years ago to help combat wild dog attacks against their first-cross ewe flock – particularly at lambing time.
The donkeys – a mixture of jacks and jennys – have proven their worth and have remained a fixture on the property.
However, “Ardrossan” manager John Whitley said they were not the silver bullet to the persistent problem.
“They are one tool we use to keep the dogs away, but we still need to bait and get trappers in,” he said.
The 2200 ewes were split into 10 mobs for lambing, which was presently underway, and as they only had eight donkeys they concentrated the donkeys on protecting sheep at the rear of the property that was closest to the Woomargama National Park and Crown Land.
Mr Whitley said the donkeys lived up to their guardian status when some sheep got out of a protected paddock.
Unfortunately wild dogs attacked some of those that fled the paddock, while those that stayed with the donkeys were unharmed.
He said when he started at the property seven years ago wild dogs weren’t an issue, but now dog sightings and attacks were more frequent.
“As soon as you let your guard down they come back.”
Mr Bulle and Mr Whitley were both part of the Holbrook wild dog control group which involved Murray Local Land Services (LLS), National Parks and NSW State Forests and other landholders, with the aim of taking a co-ordinated approach to wild dog control.
The group conducted a co-ordinated baiting program over the last eight weeks.
There are 70 properties within the Murray LLS involved in baiting programs.
In the past eight weeks, Mr Whitley had put out 30 kilograms of bait (meat injected with 1080) on “Ardrossan” on three occasions in an effort to clean up foxes and dogs while lambing.
Both Mr Whitley and Mr Bulle have sighted the dogs prowling the properties in daylight.
A neighbour sighted six dogs working in pairs working a mob of ewes on “Ardrossan”.
Following this a trapper camped at the property for 10 days and captured the six dogs plus another two.
Mr Whitley has also sighted a wild dog singling out a calf.
Controlled burns in the nearby State forest tended to flush out dogs on the farming country, hence, the group Mr Whitley was part of planned to implement perimeter baiting programs in the future at the same time as the scheduled burns.
Mr Whitley was interested to learn where the dogs trapped on the property had ventured from, something that will be possible from GPS collars that will be fitted to 30 dogs in the Murray LLS and Riverina LLS as part of a research project that would commence soon.
Department of Primary Industries researcher, Guy Ballard, Armidale, NSW, will oversee the 12-month project which will obtain dog movements and will be used to implement effective baiting and trapping programs in the future.
Riverina LLS biosecurity and emergency manager, Ray Willis, Wagga Wagga, NSW, said they had worked with local wild dogs groups and contract pest animal controllers to determine the areas to trap the dogs for collaring – essentially away from landholder boundaries.
Mr Willis said once collared, the dogs would be trapped and baited as normal.
“If a collared dog takes bait or is trapped they are taken out as per usual, we want the project to show how effective trapping and baiting is, but the main aim is to track their habits, how much country they cover, where they are coming from and going to,” he said.
Mr Willis said they were interested to know if dogs were travelling to and from Victoria.
“The more knowledge we can get the more efficiently we can use our resources.”
Mr Willis said it has been a bad year for wild dogs in the Riverina as 74 dogs had been trapped or shot since March.
“We are hoping to get some population estimates from the collaring project also.”
Police have charged a man and woman following multiple alleged break-ins in Newcastle City.
During the last month police from Newcastle Local Area Command have been investigating multiple break-ins around Newcastle.
About10pm (Friday 26 June 2015), officers have attended Maude Street, Mayfield, and spoke to a man and woman sitting in a car.
Police searched the car and allegedly located over 45 items that had been stolen from multiple homes.
The man, aged 33, and the woman, aged 40, were arrested and taken to Newcastle Police Station.
The woman was charged with three counts of aggravated break and enter, four counts of larceny, and enter vehicle without consent.
The man was charged with larceny, enter vehicle without consent, break enter steal and aggravated break enter and steal.
They were both refused bail to appear at Newcastle Bail Court today (Saturday 27 June 2015).
Police have been conducting random drug testing this week in regional areas that’s revealed alarming trends amongst NSW drivers as Operation Saturation continues across the state.
Operation Saturation – a high-visibility campaign focusing on driving down the road toll – was launched on Tuesday 9 June 2015 and will continue until Monday 6 July 2015.
NSW Police are focusing on high-risk driving offences such as speeding and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol to reduce the number of fatal crashes on the state’s roads.
As part of this ongoing operation, police conducted random drug testing of drivers within regional areas including Port Macquarie, Wauchope, Kempsey, Mudgee, Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie, Central Hunter and Newcastle.
The following results were recorded during the targeted operation:
Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, said the results have revealed an alarming trend amongst some NSW road users.
“These figures reflect the dangerous attitudes of some drivers and no doubt they’re of serious concern to other road users,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said.
“153 positive returns translates to a ratio of one in seven tests that are positive at the roadside. In comparison, the ratio of positive breath tests is one in 288.
“Those that test positive run the risk of losing their driver’s licence, their ability to get to work, and their ability to look after their families.
“Safe driving requires good judgement and sharp concentration. You also need to react quickly to changing situations on the road; all of which are dangerously compromised while under the influence of drugs.
“The message is simple; taking drugs of any kind before you get behind the wheel puts you at greater risk of injuring yourself, your loved ones, or other road users.
“With more and more drug testing units being rolled out across the state, if you choose to do the wrong thing you can expect to be caught.
“Police will continue to conduct road safety operations right throughout NSW to ensure that those who choose to ignore the road rules, like drug drivers, are dealt with accordingly,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said.
Operation Saturation, a joint operation between police and the NSW Centre for Road Safety, will continue to target risky behavior, including speeding and drink and drug-driving.
Police are urging all motorists to observe proper occupant restraints, manage fatigue and display responsible driver behaviour.
A man has been charged with drug offences after a vehicle stop in Lake Macquarie yesterday.
About 11am (Friday 26 June 2015), Northern Region Highway Patrol officers directed a car to stop at the intersection of Oakdale Road and Pacific Highway, Gateshead.
The vehicle pulled over as directed and police spoke to the occupants. The vehicle was also searched.
Police allegedly located 2.4 grams of methylamphetamine (“Ice”) and cash.
The passenger, a 22-year-old man, was arrested and taken to Charlestown Police Station.
Police investigations led to a search warrant being executed on a relative’s home in Macquarie Hills where four replica-style firearms were seized.
The 22-year-old man was charged with possess prohibited drug and was granted conditional bail to appear before Belmont Local Court on Wednesday 22 July 2015.
Inquiries are continuing and further charges are expected regarding the replica firearms seized.
Police from four local area commands within the Hunter region are joining forces in an operation to combat property theft, drug supply and other offences.
Operation Quad LAC will involve police from Lake Macquarie, Newcastle City, Port Stephens and Central Hunter Special Operations Groups.
The operation will run over the next two weekends, and involve the four commands sharing intelligence and resources to conduct targeted, high-visibility patrols.
Specifically, Operation Quad LAC will:
The crimes to be targeted by Operation Quad LAC include property offences, such as break-and-enters. Officers will also have drug suppliers in their sights.
“Throughout this operation, we will be undertaking numerous proactive policing strategies with our colleagues within the Newcastle City, Port Stephens and Central Hunter commands,” Lake Macquarie Local Area commander, Superintendent Brett Greentree, said.
“Crime knows no boundaries, so it makes perfect sense for us to share resources in this way,” he said.
“Our other vital partnership is with the local communities in these areas, and as always, we ask that anyone with information about crime to come forward and report it to police,” Supt Greentree said.
The driver of a truck that hit and killed an elderly man on the Hume Highway near Yass in March will face court charged with a number of driving offences including dangerous driving and driving under the influence of illegal drugs.
An 83-year-old Queensland man was killed in the crash at the Mantons Ridge intersection on March 11.
He was standing in the path of oncoming traffic speaking with the driver of a second car when he was hit by the B-double truck. He died at the scene.
The truck driver, a 46-year-old Yass man, was arrested and charged with three offences on June 18.
He will face court charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning death, and driving a vehicle with an illicit drug present in his blood.
He has since been given conditional bail to appear at Yass Local Court on August 4.