SYDNEY, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Two people have died and four others have been injured in two separate traffic crashes within hours on Wednesday in northern Australia.

The police service in the state of Queensland said in a statement on Thursday that emergency services were called to a highway near the rural town of Breddan, over 1,000 km northwest of Brisbane, shortly after 4 p.m. local time on Wednesday after two vehicles traveling in opposite directions collided head-on.

The passenger in one of the vehicles, a woman in her 50s, was declared dead at the scene, and a man in his 50s who was driving was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the other vehicle, a woman in her 40s, sustained significant injuries and was taken to the hospital in a critical condition.

Less than 90 minutes earlier, police and emergency services were deployed to reports of a three-vehicle crash near Bajool, about 500 km northwest of Brisbane.

The Queensland Police Service said that an SUV was traveling south on the Bruce Highway, a major highway linking Brisbane to the state's far north, when it collided with a northbound white pickup truck.

A gray pickup truck, also traveling north, then collided with the white pickup.

A 24-year-old man, the driver of the SUV, was declared deceased at the scene. The drivers of both pickup trucks were transported to the hospital for treatment.

Police said the forensic crash unit is investigating both incidents.

Australia is in the midst of the annual National Road Safety Week, which highlights the impact of road trauma and the importance of safe driving habits.

In the southeastern state of Victoria, 11 people have died on roads in a five-day span, taking the state's 2025 road death toll to 114 compared to 102 at the same point in 2024.

A major road safety operation conducted by Victoria Police on Monday detected 930 traffic offenses, including 530 speeding offenses.

"In light of National Road Safety Week, and the fact we've had so many deaths on our roads in a matter of days, we urge everyone to be safe on the roads and most importantly -- slow down," Glenn Weir, Victoria's road policing assistant commissioner, said in a statement on Wednesday. ■