IT was a horror weekend for police on local roads with a fatal collision at Coomba Park and another driver detected at Nabiac driving at speeds in excess of 230km/h.
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At approximately 12.45pm on Saturday police were called to Burraneer Road Coomba Park following a head-on collision between a small Skoda and a Nissan Navara four-wheel-drive.
The 89-year-old driver of the Skoda, Mr Willem Veenstra from Vineyard in Sydney, was pronounced dead at the scene. Two female passengers from the Skoda were airlifted to John Hunter Hospital suffering broken legs and wrists.
The driver of the Nissan Navara, a 60-year-old Coomba Park man, was also airlifted to John Hunter Hospital suffering a suspected fractured sternum.
It has been confirmed that Mr Veenstra was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident prompting police to remind all drivers and passengers to wear seatbelts on all trips.
The fatality came less than 24 hours after a disqualified provisional driver was detected driving more than 130km/h over speed limit at Nabiac.
Between 11.30pm and 11.50pm on Friday night police responded to radio tip offs from a number of truck drivers who reported a vehicle driving recklessly south-bound on the Pacific Highway. Police detected the vehicle travelling approximately 159km/h near Nabiac.
They followed the vehicle which then accelerated to speeds in excess of 230km/h before eventually stopping at Coolongoolook.
Police approached the vehicle, which was occupied by two male persons, and spoke to the driver who they discovered was a disqualified provisional licence holder.
Police searched the vehicle and located a number of items of property that were subsequently seized including a sum of cash in excess of $12,000.
The driver, a 22-year-old Lakemba man, was bailed to appear in Taree Local Court on July 22 charged with driving whilst disqualified, exceeding posted speed limits by more than 45km/h, driving in a reckless and dangerous manner and having goods in personal custody suspected of being stolen.
