Maryborough, Queensland: Sidney Marstella killed in Bruce Highway five-car crash

Tributes have poured in for a man who was one of three people killed in a horror five-car crash on a major Queensland highway.

Sidney Marstella, 53, was driving his SUV when it collided with a semi-trailer on the Bruce Highway in Maryborough, about 270km north of Brisbane, just before 10pm on Friday evening.

The semi-trailer then hit another truck before colliding with a truck and a caravan trailer.

Mr Marstella and the drivers of the two trucks tragically died in the accident, which residents said they heard from miles away.

Two of the vehicles caught fire and one of the trucks was carrying a load of lithium batteries, causing loud explosions and a fireball.

It is understood Mr Marstella had turned right from an intersection towards one of the trucks.

Relatives have since paid tribute to Mr Marstella, who was remembered by his niece Leticia Wise as a ‘comedian’ who made everyone laugh.

‘This hurts so much. I can’t believe I’ll never see or hear from you again,” Ms. Wise wrote on Facebook.

‘He was very well known in Maryborough. Those who knew Sid Marstella know that he was a great, kind, loving and helpful friend.”

Family friend Tabitha Pershouse uploaded an emotional post in honor of Mr Marstella on Saturday.

‘RIP Sidney Marstella. I can’t believe you’re gone, we will definitely meet you again, buddy love, always and forever,” she wrote.

A 22-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man from the Northern Territory traveling north suffered minor injuries after their vehicle collided with the trailers of both trucks.

A 50-year-old man driving the car towing the caravan was also injured in the crash, but not seriously injured.

The two trucks caught fire almost immediately (photo) after the collision on Friday evening

Emergency services, including fire and rescue crews, rushed to the scene on Friday evening, while firefighters were still on site on Saturday, hosing down one of the trucks and clearing debris.

The identities of the two killed truck drivers have not yet been released.

“Due to the collision and the damage to both vehicles, we have had to call in Brisbane Disaster Victim Identification Police to assess the remains of people at the scene so that we can identify these people,” the statement said. Queensland Police. Superintendent Paul Algie told reporters Saturday.

Emergency services, including firefighters, rushed to the scene to tackle the blaze (pictured) and parts of the highway were closed on Saturday as authorities investigated the cause of the incident

He said investigators were looking into whether the crash was caused by an “inability to yield.”

“The two trucks collided and immediately burst into flames,” Act Supt Algie said.

One of the trucks was carrying the lithium batteries and the other had a load of watermelons.

The intersection was closed for most of Saturday as emergency services continue to investigate the cause of the incident.

A woman from an online community group said she heard explosions in a suburb three miles away.

‘I heard the explosions here in Oakhurst. It was horrible, my heart dropped, so sad,” she said.

A driver who had been traveling near the site told the group that a truck was on fire and there were several smaller explosions when the shipment of paint cans ignited.

“The police stopped me there and told me to turn around,” they said.

‘It was also raining quite hard. Not to mention that I could hear and see small explosions there, which were later reported to be paint cans.

“I am devastated to hear that people have died during this event.”

Anyone who saw the crash or has dashcam footage of the crash is asked to contact police.