Coppins Crossing crash: Three Bangladeshi tourists dead after horror smash on Canberra’s outskirts

Aussie holiday ends in tragedy after three people from the same family are killed in a horror crash and another is left fighting for life

• Three people killed in two-car crash on Canberra outskirts have been identified 
• The victims were from the same family travelling in a red Toyota hatchback
• The Bangladeshi nationals were travelling around Australia on tourist visas 
• Another relative was rushed to hospital in critical condition and remains in ICU 

By Kylie Stevens and Padraig Collins For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 05:48 BST, 17 October 2022 | Updated: 05:48 BST, 17 October 2022

A road trip to Canberra has ended in tragedy after three Bangladeshi tourists from the same family were killed in a head-on crash as another relative fights for life in hospital. 

Emergency responders had to cut the red Toyota hatchback into pieces to rescue the family after it collided with a white Toyota van at a notorious black spot on Canberra’s western outskirts on Sunday. 

Police confirmed the three victims who died at the scene on Coppins Crossing Road were Bangladeshi nationals all visiting Australia on tourist visas.

Shahid and Sri Khan, aged 61 and 54, died at the scene along with a younger relative Roni, 21. 

The driver, Rashed, aged in his 20s, was rushed to Canberra Hospital where he remains in the ICU in a critical condition.

Shahid (left) and Sri Khan (second left) were killed in a horror crash near Canberra on Sunday. Another family member Rashed (far right) is fighting for life

The red Toyota hatchback is pictured completely flattened after a crash in Canberra on Sunday

The family was holidaying in the nation’s capital at the time. 

‘Some deaths are unacceptable. Suddenly everything stops at some unprepared news. My brother-in-law along with cousin Roni has died and elder brother Dr. Rashed is in ICU pray for him so that Allah protects him,’ one relative posted on Facebook.

‘May Allah bless everyone in heaven.’

Another relative Abdullah Sarkar said his uncle Shahid was a regular customer in his shop and told The Daily Telegraph the news has been ‘a huge shock’ for the whole family.

The driver of the Toyota van was also rushed to hospital in a serious condition.

The fatalities take the ACT’s 2022 road toll to 17.

The crash occurred within 25km of where two teenage girls were killed on the Monaro Highway in Hume a week ago.

A 16-year-old boy was later charged with two counts of culpable driving causing death.

Roni (left) also died in the crash along with relatives Shahid Khan (in white) and Sri Khan (in pink) The driver Rashed (second right) is in a critical condition

Police and emergency responders were confronted with harrowing scenes when they arrived at the crash scene on Sunday

The latest fatal crash has prompted a plea from police for motorists to slow down and take care on the roads.

‘It’s an ongoing investigation, we won’t speculate at this stage, but lower speeds mean people are safer on the roads,’ Detective Superintendent Mick Calatzis said. 

‘It’s just common sense, slow down. One or two minutes to get there later won’t hurt anybody. You need to come home alive to your families.’  

Jim Walsh from ACT Fire and Rescue said all staff who worked at the scene of the crash will be supported to ensure their wellbeing is looked after.    

Coppins Crossing Road is a ‘known crash spot’ and is ‘full of pot holes’, according to locals who have raised concerns about the road for at least a decade.

 Sunday’s horrific crash takes the ACT 2022 road toll to 17. Pictured are police at the scene

‘The point which the collision occurred at, the signage is ambiguous, it’s pretty much a construction track being used almost as an arterial road,’ Weston Creek Community Council’s Bill Gremmel told the ABC.

‘It’s the main link road really between Woden, Weston Creek, Molonglo, through to the western parts of Belconnen, it’s got some substantial traffic.

‘It goes from quite a wide two-lane road [John Gorton Drive] down to a narrow, single-lane each way road (Coppins Crossing Road) very quickly and it’s on the downhill.’

Police investigations into the crash continue, including a report for the coroner. 

Anyone with information or has dashcam to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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