Sinister new details emerge after four people killed in fiery head-on crash on Leach Highway, Perth

Harrowing details have emerged about a station wagon travelling on the wrong side of  highway before it crashed head-on into a taxi, claiming four lives.

Emergency services rushed to Leach Highway in Cloverdale near Perth Airport, at about 3.40am on Monday following reports of a head-on collision, causing the Toyota RAV4 to burst into flames.

Both the Toyota RAV4 motorist and the taxi driver, 58, died at the scene.

A mother and daughter in the back seat of the taxi, aged 56 and 81, also lost their lives.

Police have revealed the Toyota RAV4 driver made a ‘conscious decision’ to drive on the wrong side of the highway, which is laned and separated by a centre wall.

Detective Senior Sergeant Hugh Le Tessier said at a press conference on Monday afternoon that there was evidence t 

‘It’s such a tragic event for that family — not just for that family who’ve lost a mother and daughter … there’s four families who have been impacted by this,’ Detective Senior Sergeant Hugh Le Tessier said.

Officers are investigating whether the driver deliberately intended to inflict harm. 

Detective Senior Sergeant Hugh Le Tessier said it was a tragedy.

He said police had evidence to suggest the man was driving erratically through nearby suburbs prior to the crash, before travelling the wrong way down the highway off-ramp.

Police have retrieved some dash-cam footage from the wreck of the RAV4 that detail the car’s movements prior to the crash.

But Detective Le Tessier said it’s unclear why the driver chose to enter on the highway off-ramp.

“We know what happened, and our investigation is now focusing on why, but I can’t answer that at this stage.”

Detective Le Tessier said he was surprised the dash-cam footage survived the fire, which he described as “very fierce”.

More to come. 

Four people died in the fiery head-on crash after a Toyota RAV4 travelling on the wrong side of the road collided with a taxi