One person killed in crash on Loosemore's Rd at Red Range near Glen Innes

One person was killed in the single vehicle crash on Loosemore’s Rd at Red Range, while another person was taken to hospital by paramedics.

A crime scene was set-up with detectives called in as well as forensic police from Tamworth.

It’s the third fatal crash in the New England since Sunday with four lives lost on local roads.

“We’re losing lives on country roads and it takes a toll on the families and friends, but also emergency services, health care workers and the community as a whole pays a huge price for every life lost on our roads,” Highway Patrol Inspector Peter McMenamin told The Leader.

Police are investigating whether a medical issue might have caused Wednesday’s horrific highway crash that claimed the lives of an Armidale couple.

Investigators are trying to piece together the moments before the Holden Vectra crashed head on into the semi-trailer which had stopped at road works on the New England Highway.

Oxley Inspector Michael Wurth said the couple, aged in their sixties, were returning to Armidale when the crash occurred.

He said preliminary investigations showed the Vectra to be the vehicle at fault, with the 40-year-old driver in the truck escaping injury.

Inspector Wurth said police were investigating whether a medical episode could have led the woman, who was behind the wheel, to cross to the incorrect side of the road, hitting the truck, killing her and her male passenger.

“The Holden Vectra collided with the front of the truck, which was stationary, and facing southbound,” he said.

“A mechanical examination of the vehicle will be carried out and a report will be prepared for the coroner.”

Meanwhile, two people were also killed between Walcha and Gloucester on the Thunderbolts Way near Giro in the early hours of Thursday. The southbound truck ran off the road and burst into flames at 4.30am.

The country road toll is almost three times the Sydney toll with police pleading for drivers to take care.

“Our biggest underlying factor is still speed and fatigue and a combination of impairment, whether that is through alcohol, fatigue or drugs,” Inspector McMenamin said. “Too many lives have been lost.”