A Nepalese immigrant deliberately drove on the wrong side of a Perth highway before smashing into a taxi, killing the driver, two passengers, and himself.
Western Australia Police said Rabin Rawal, 43, was behind the wheel of a Toyota RAV4 which slammed head-on into a Toyota Camry taxi on the Leach Highway in Cloverdale on Monday, and are now investigating whether the crash was a murder-suicide.
Rawal was a married father, worked for the government, and was a respected member of the local Nepalese community, 7 News reported.
Taxi driver Sendeku Tesema, 58, a father of three, was killed in the smash along with his passengers, a mother and daughter aged 81 and 56.
Police Commissioner Col Blanch said earlier this week it was too early to tell if the crash was a murder-suicide, but that an investigation was underway into “concerning” dash cam footage.
Detective Senior Sergeant Hugh Le Tessier said the dash cam video showed the RAV4 speeding through Belmont and Cloverdale before Rawal deliberately drove up an off-ramp onto the highway and headed north into southbound traffic at about 3.40am.
“Almost the most horrific incident you could attend as a police officer in a road crash scenario – very confronting,” he said.
Photos of the crash scene, 2km from Rawal’s home, show the crumpled wreckage of the burnt-out RAV4, which was on fire when police arrived, and the silver Camry with the entire front smashed in.
Police described the scene as “confronting” and WA Premier Roger Cook said on Thursday he expected more distressing information to emerge about the crash.
“There will be more details, and they’ll be disturbing,” he said.
Header image: Left, Rabin Rawal. Right, the crash scene (7 News).
