Man dies, other driver injured after two utes collide on highway
Posted , updated
Police are still investigating the cause of the fatal crash. (Supplied: WIN News)
In short:
A 55-year-old man who was on his way to work has been killed and another man is in hospital after their utes crashed on the East Derwent Highway outside Hobart on Friday morning.
Three other people have died on the same highway this year.
What's next?
Police have reopened the highway and say the investigation into the crash is continuing.
A 55-year-old man has died in hospital and a 28-year-old man is in a serious condition in hospital after a crash between their two utes in the early hours of Friday morning at Otago Bay in southern Tasmania.
Police said the 55-year-old man was on his way to work on the East Derwent Highway about 4:20am when the utes crashed.
One man died and another was seriously injured in the crash. (Supplied: WIN News)
Emergency services were notified by a passing motorist.
"When emergency services attended, the drivers both had to be extracted and taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital," Acting Inspector Rob Bessell said.
Acting Inpsector Bessell said the 55-year-old died some time after reaching hospital while the 28-year-old remains there in a serious but stable condition.
Both men were driving without passengers.
Acting Inspector Rob Bessell said the East Derwent Highway was closed for five hours so crash scene investigators could gather evidence. (Supplied: Tasmania Police)
Police closed the road for five hours to enable crash scene investigators to gather evidence.
The investigation is ongoing but Mr Bessell said he believed the white Hilux was travelling south on the Highway and the silver Rodeo was travelling north.
He said as always the crash scene was confronting for emergency services and the public.
Three other deaths on East Derwent Highway
Friday's crash is the fourth death this year on the East Derwent Highway.
A woman died in a crash on the highway near Old Beach earlier this month. Two other people died in a crash at Old Beach in June.
Tasmania Police at scene of fatal Old Beach crash, where a blue Nissan and a silver Great Wall collided head on. (ABC News: ABC News)
"Moving forward we are going to conduct further high visibility patrols in order to ensure people obey the speed limit and to reduce any illegal or high risk driving behaviours" Acting Inspector Bessell said.
The death takes Tasmania's road toll to 26 this year.
Police are calling for anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam footage from the East Derwent Highway about the time of the crash, to contact them.
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