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Mitchell Freeway crash: One dead, another fighting for life after peak-hour smash leaves Perth in gridlock

Phil Hickey 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.

One of three people injured in a horror Mitchell Freeway crash has died, while another fights for life in Royal Perth Hospital.

Police confirmed just before 8pm Tuesday that one person had died from injuries they suffered in the crash, which occurred about 4pm.

Two other people were rushed to RPH.

One female patient is in a critical condition, while a male is stable.

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The Mitchell Freeway ground to a halt for hours on Tuesday afternoon after the crash.

The southbound lanes of the freeway were shut from 4pm after two cars ran up the back of a truck which had slowed near Lake Monger Drive.

The Freeway remained closed at 10pm.

Emergency services at the scene of the fatal crash.
Camera IconEmergency services at the scene of the fatal crash. Credit: 7NEWS/7NEWS

The incident left thousands of afternoon commuters stuck in standstill traffic at peak hour, with cars queued back on the southbound lanes 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 bedlam on the Mitchell Freeway, which was shut for 7km from Hutton Street to the Graham Farmer Freeway.

Emergency services needed to cut one person involved in the crash from their white Nissan Patrol.

A large flatbed truck loaded with wooden pallets could be seen sitting by the mangled wreck of the four-wheel-drive.

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

The front of the Nissan was destroyed.

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 at the scene.

Traffic management teams and police were diverting traffic for hours after the crash on Tuesday night.

Witness Ian Hilton told 9News he heard a “large bang” and felt the ground shake as the vehicles ran up the back of the crash.

Major crash detectives were yesterday piecing together what happened in the moments before the crash.

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