Man charged after second state road death

A 23-YEAR-OLD Italian man has been charged with dangerous driving occasioning death after his car rolled and killed a female passenger in the state’s south.

The 24-year-old, from Belgium, was the second person to die on the state’s roads this long weekend.

The couple was travelling along the Sturt Highway in Euston, on the border with Victoria, early yesterday (Saturday) when the car rolled.

Police say the woman died at the scene.

The driver has been charged with driving in a dangerous manner occasioning death and is due to appear at Balranald Local Court in August.

The fatal crash came hours after a 31-year-old man was killed when his motorcycle careered off a road on the Central Coast just before 10pm yesterday.

He was riding along Pearl Beach Drive at Pearl Beach, when he lost control around a corner, police say.

The man’s bike hit a metal safety railing and he died at the scene.

Meanwhile, 20 people had been charged with drink-driving until yesterday afternoon.

Police also had issued almost 1200 speeding infringements.

Poor driver behaviour detected during Operation Stay Alert includes:

A man clocked by Gundagai Highway Patrol at 203km/h in a 110km/h zone on the Hume Highway. He was issued a court attendance notice for the offences

A 39-year-old Waratah man driving on the incorrect side of the New England Highway, between Hexham and Beresfield in the Hunter region, forced numerous vehicles to take evasive action to avoid a crash. The car then smashed into a safety railing. The man returned a positive roadside breath-test and was taken to Maitland Police Station where he returned a reading of 0.163. He was charged with high-range PCA and drive in a manner dangerous. His licence was suspended.

A 42-year-old man from Sweetmans Creek detected Friday travelling at 149km/h in a 100km/h zone on the Pacific Highway, Eungai Creek, on the Mid-North Coast. He was booked for exceeding the speed limit over 45km/h and had his licence suspended. Three hours later the same man was stopped on the Pacific Highway, Kempsey. He was issued with a court attendance notice for the offence of drive whilst suspended.

A 21-year-old female P-plater clocked at 130km/h in a 100km/h zone on the Pacific Highway, Nabiac, on the Mid-North Coast. She was booked for exceeding the speed limit over 30km/h and her licence was suspended. She stated she wasn’t used to driving outside Sydney. P1 drivers are restricted to 90km/h, police say.