A devastating multi-vehicle collision in Sydney’s western suburb of Lakemba has left one man dead and multiple people trapped in wreckage, triggering widespread traffic disruption that paralyzed a key arterial road on Tuesday morning.
Emergency responders were first dispatched to Canterbury Road just before 11:40 a.m. following initial reports of a two-car crash. When police arrived at the scene, they confirmed that the first two vehicles had collided head-to-tail, leaving both of their drivers trapped inside their damaged vehicles. Moments later, a secondary chain reaction crash occurred a short distance from the initial collision, drawing seven additional vehicles into the pileup. Authorities have confirmed the two collision events are connected, resulting in the total nine-vehicle crash.
One man, whose identity has not yet been released to the public, was pronounced dead at the scene. All other trapped drivers were successfully extricated from their vehicles by paramedics, and have been taken to local hospitals for mandatory assessment and testing. At the height of the response operation, multiple additional people remained trapped in entangled vehicles as emergency crews worked to clear the site.
The catastrophic crash has thrown local traffic into complete chaos, prompting authorities to close Canterbury Road between Chapel Street and Haldon Street in both directions. Emergency services, heavy tow trucks, and representatives from Transport NSW have been deployed to the site, with police managing redirected traffic flow. In an official public advisory, LiveTraffic NSW noted that ongoing police investigations at the scene are expected to take several hours to complete, urging motorists to avoid the area entirely and plan alternative routes. Light passenger vehicles are being directed through local side-street diversions, while heavy commercial vehicles have been advised to use alternate major routes including Bexley Road, the M5 Motorway, and King Georges Road.