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Mitchell Freeway horror: 25-year-old female fighting for life, one dead after crash

Brianna Dugan and Michael TraillThe West Australian
VideoThe Mitchell Freeway southbound is expected to remain closed for several hours after a serious crash on Tuesday afternoon left at least one person fighting for life.

A woman is fighting for life after the horror freeway crash on Mitchell Freeway that left one dead and another seriously injured.

The crash gridlocked Perth during peak hour when a Nissan Patrol crossed several lanes of traffic before hitting the back of a Mercedes Benz truck in the southbound lanes near Leederville about 4pm on Tuesday.

The front of the Nissan was destroyed, with emergency services having to cut a person from the vehicle.

A fatal crash near West Leederville caused traffic chaos across Perth.
Camera IconA fatal crash near West Leederville caused traffic chaos across Perth. Credit: 7NEWS/7NEWS

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The 38-year-old driver of the Nissan died at the scene.

A 25-year-old female remains in a critical condition in ICU in Royal Perth Hospital, while a 30-year-old man is stable.

Traffic trickled past the scene in a single lane open to motorists as paramedics worked to save those involved in the crash.

“It’s going to take some time to go over the crash scene and obviously we don’t know the extent of the injuries to the people involved in the crash,” Insp. Vic Hussey said.

The freeway ground to a halt for hours while emergency services worked to clear the wreckage.

The southbound lanes were shut from 4pm, causing commuter chaos up until midnight when they reopened.

Traffic snaked for kilometres after the smash, which occurred at 4pm.
Camera IconTraffic snaked for kilometres after the smash, which occurred at 4pm. Credit: 7NEWS/7NEWS

Thousands of commuters were stuck in standstill traffic at peak hours, causing cars to queue for kilometres.

The chaos rippled across Perth’s transport infrastructure, with buses delayed across the network.

Alternative routes were choked with motorists trying to avoid the Mitchell Freeway bedlam, which was shut for 7km from Hutton Street to the Graham Farmer Freeway.

Major Crash Detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and are asking any witnesses to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online.

Dash-cam or mobile phone footage related to the crash can be uploaded directly via this link.

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