Motorists face 'significant' delays after fatal bridge crash
An unlicensed motorcyclist who allegedly rode his unregistered bike through a crime scene after a head-on collision on the Sydney Harbour Bridge that killed two drivers is in custody potentially facing a raft of charges.
As emergency services treated patients in the aftermath of the crash, the motorcyclist sped over the closed bridge and through the crime scene towards officers before being stopped and removed from his bike by an officer who suffered minor bruising on his leg and grazes on one of his hands.
“That gentleman drove towards police, who stood in front of him and were able to stop that gentleman,” NSW Police Acting Superintendent Clayton McDonald said.
The motorcyclist was arrested and taken to Day Street police station, where he was expected to be charged with “serious” traffic offences.
Footage of the man’s arrest showed several officers piling on the man before he was led handcuffed into a nearby police vehicle. He has not yet been charged.
The bridge came to a standstill at about 1.40pm on Thursday when a car travelling north crossed into oncoming southbound traffic, police said. Several other cars were involved in collisions as a result.
Police said two male drivers, who are yet to be identified, had died at the scene. Another man and a pregnant woman were taken to Royal North Shore Hospital in a stable condition.
Southbound lanes and three of the four northbound lanes on the Harbour Bridge were closed for several hours before two lanes in both directions were reopened about 4.20pm. All lanes have since reopened, but delays were expected into Thursday night.
Motorists were warned of significant peak hour delays and urged to use train or Metro services to cross the bridge, with traffic at one point banked up 12km as far as Rozelle.
“There will be extensive delays so please avoid the area and we’ll do all we can to make the evening trip as smooth as possible,” Transport for NSW co-ordinator-general Howard Collins said.
Collins warned the delays could last for hours.
Police have established a crime scene and officers from the Crash Investigations Unit visited the site on Thursday afternoon.
“It is very sad for all those people involved,” McDonald said.
Police arrested a motorcyclist who attempted to ride through the crash site.Credit: Dylan Coker
“There will be numerous members of certain families affected by this and we’ll be working throughout the night with the ongoing investigation to inform the family members of those people who passed away.”
Police said the bus driver was uninjured, while no passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash. A NSW Ambulance helicopter was seen landing on the bridge about 2pm.
Separate footage filmed in the immediate aftermath of the collision shows at least two hatchbacks and an SUV with significant damage blocking several lanes.
A number of people can be seen assessing the damage from the crash. One man reached into the driver’s side window of a white Hyundai hatchback which had its front end smashed in.
Photographs taken on the bridge show a blue hatchback with its front smashed in and airbags deployed as firefighters assess an SUV nearby.
Sydney Buses said southbound services to the city would end at North Sydney or Macquarie Park, while northbound buses from the city would terminate in the CBD.
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