Elderly man suffers serious injuries after car collides with tree on South Coast Highway near Denmark

An elderly man is being treated for serious injuries after the car he was driving left the road and hit a tree near Denmark on Saturday morning. Emergency services rushed to the scene at about 11.45am on South Coast Highway in Shadforth after reports of a car colliding with a tree. St John WA sent two crews to the crash and treated a male in his 80s with serious injuries. The man was taken under priority conditions to Denmark Health Service for treatment. A St John WA spokeswoman said the patient was set to be transferred to Albany Health Campus at 3.10pm under normal road conditions. Fire crews from Denmark Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service were assisted at the scene by Albany Fire and Rescue Service, a Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokesperson confirmed. A police spokesman said it was a single vehicle crash and they are conducting inquiries into the incident. It is the second serious crash in the Shire of Denmark over the festive period, after six people were involved in a two-car crash in Hay on December 23. A 69-year-old man had to be cut free from the wreckage and was flown to Perth with critical injuries while the other five people were treated for minor injuries.