Man dies, other driver injured after two utes collide on highway

A 55-year-old man on his way to work is dead and another man is in hospital after their utes crashed on the East Derwent Highway outside Hobart on Friday morning. Earlier this month three people died on the same highway a few kilometres away at Old Beach. What's next? Police have reopened the highway and say the investigation into the crash is continuing. A 55-year-old man has died in hospital and a 28-year-old man is in a serious condition in hospital after a crash between their two utes in the early hours of Friday morning at Otago Bay in southern Tasmania. Police said the 55-year-old man was on his way to work on the East Derwent Highway about 4:20am when the utes crashed. Emergency services were notified by a passing motorist. "When emergency services attended, the drivers both had to be extracted and taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital," Acting Inspector Rob Bessell said. Acting Inpsector Bessell said the 55-year-old died some time after reaching hospital while the 28-year-old remains there in a serious but stable condition. Both men were driving without passengers. Police closed the road for five hours to enable crash scene investigators to gather evidence. The investigation is ongoing but Mr Bessell said he believed the white Hilux was travelling south on the Highway and the silver Rodeo was travelling north. He said as always the crash scene was confronting for emergency services and the public. Three other deaths on East Derwent Highway Friday's crash is the fourth death this year on the East Derwent Highway. "Moving forward we are going to conduct further high visibility patrols in order to ensure people obey the speed limit and to reduce any illegal or high risk driving behaviours" Acting Inspector Bessell said. The death takes Tasmania's road toll to 26 this year. Police are calling for anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam footage from the East Derwent Highway about the time of the crash, to contact them.