Operation Merritt set to wrap up as police investigate rollover on Black Gully Road at Werris Creek

Six ambulances were deployed to the crash which happened on the Black Gully Road at Werris Creek at 10pm.

Police said the driver, a 19-year-old woman, was thrown from the vehicle when it rolled on an unsealed section of the road.

She was treated at the scene and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked from Tamworth with a medical retrieval team on board.

The woman was treated for a suspected spinal injury and flown to Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.

She was believed to have been in a serious condition.

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A spokesperson for Ambulance NSW said three other patients, believed to be two men and a woman, were treated for various injuries and taken to Tamworth hospital in a stable condition.

Oxley Chief Inspector Phil O’Reilly told The Leader preliminary investigations revealed the driver lost control on an unsealed section of the road.

“The vehicle rolled and came to rest on its roof,” he said.

“There were four passengers in the vehicle and the driver was ejected and another occupant trapped.”

Quirindi police are investigating the cause of the crash.

The rollover comes amid the end of Operation Merritt – a road safety operation that police have been conducting for more than two months.

The operation – which aims to reduce road trauma – was due to wrap up at the weekend but Chief Inspector O’Reilly said it could be extended.

“Operation Merritt has been running as a state-wide operation for 10 weeks and in that time more than 9000 random breath tests have been conducted across the Oxley Police District,” he said.

“Last week alone, 1420 RBTs were conducted across the Oxley district as well as 95 random drug tests.”

The Oxley Police District’s road toll is up on this time last year.

In April, two people died on locals roads. An 18-year-old Narrabri man was killed in a head-on crash on April 2 on the Kamilaroi Highway at Boggabri, while a 32-year-old man died on a private property at Edgeroi, between Narrabri and Moree.

Chief Inspector O’Reilly said the man was hunting on the property when he feel off the back of the ute.

In March, two men were killed in the Oxley area including a 35-year-old man who was killed when the car he was driving burst into flames after hitting a powerpole and a fence in Tamworth.

The crash happened at the intersection of Robert Street and Nancy Street in the early hours of March 3.

Chief Inspector O’Reilly said police are still investigating whether a fatal crash on March 16 near the intersection of Marius and Bligh streets in North Tamworth was the result of a medical incident.

“We would urge all community members to take care on the roads, and drive to the road conditions,” he said.