POLICE believe that a truck’s defective diesel tank is to blame for two separate collisions on the New England Highway last Thursday.
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Diesel poured from the Isuzu tipper truck along a 14km stretch of the highway, resulting in an accident approximately 400m north from the Segenhoe Road turnoff near Aberdeen.
At about 9.15am, the Toyota Camry sedan lost traction with the roadway on a bend known as Halcombe Hill, sliding to the left and colliding with the armco guard rail.
The impact caused significant damage to the front of the vehicle.
Following the initial collision, approximately 50m-100m behind, a grey Holden Captiva also lost traction with the roadway, with the driver braking in an effort to regain control of her vehicle.
At the same time, a silver Toyota Prado attempted to stop his vehicle after losing control but collided with the rear nearside of the Captiva, resulting in minor damage to both cars.
Completely unaware of the spill and subsequent carnage left behind, the driver of the truck eventually ran out of diesel at the outskirts of Muswellbrook, stopping near the Hunter Belle Cheese factory.
Police attended the scene and summoned the RMS and fire brigade to initiate traffic controls and road cleaning measures.
A total of four street sweeper vehicles attended the scene and spent a considerable time cleaning up the diesel from the roadway.
No-one was injured from the collisions.