A coroner's inquest hears a drug-addicted Adelaide car thief whose body was found weeks after he crashed a stolen vehicle was an expert at hiding from police.

Police are investigating a horror two-car smash at an Adelaide intersection, which left a woman with serious injuries.

A man is being transported to the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) with pelvic injuries following a crash between a car and a truck just north of Port Wakefield, about 100-kilometres from Adelaide. Diversions are in place for those travelling to Port Augusta.

The mother and three of her children, aged under 10, died at the scene

The mother and three of her children, aged under 10, died at the scene

Police say a car and truck collided on the Bruce Highway near Conn Creek.

Business is booming for the gold mining industry as the price of the precious metal sets new benchmarks almost every day, but not everyone in mining towns like Kalgoorlie is taking a shine to the recent "mini gold rush".

A 24-year-old Kalgoorlie woman who crashed into an old courthouse building and fled the scene has avoided jail for reckless driving, telling a Magistrate she had "poor recollection" of the incident after hitting her head.

Todd Robinson speaks out about his partner, Constable Glen Humphris — one of the four police officers killed in a fatal crash — saying he was "so proud" to have joined Victoria Police.

Constable Glen Humphris and three other officers were hit by a truck while standing in the emergency lane of the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne.

A Victoria Police officer, who was killed along with three of his colleagues when they were struck by a truck, is remembered as a "bright light" by his devastated family, who have been left "with a pain that has taken our breath away".

The lawyer for truck driver Mohinder Singh tells a Melbourne court his client is deeply distressed by the "tragic consequences" of last week's crash, when the truck he was driving hit and killed four police officers on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway.

The partner of Senior Constable Kevin King, who was killed in last week's Eastern Freeway crash in Melbourne, says her heart is "in pieces" after the loss of her "only love for 35 years".

Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor is farewelled as a dedicated "hero" who will always be remembered for making a "huge difference to the community", as Victoria Police officers observe a minute of silence for their colleague.

Victorians will never forget the sacrifice made by the four police officers killed in the Eastern Freeway crash, Police Minister Lisa Neville says, as Constable Glen Humphris and Senior Constable Kevin King are laid to rest.

Melbourne experiences the wettest start to a year on record, and has eight times more rain than the same period last year.

Forestry academics have issued a warning over the Victorian Government's decision to scale back the harvesting of native timber forests in the lead-up to a 2030 ban.

A self-styled daredevil who taught himself rocket science in a bid to prove the Earth is flat dies after crashing his homemade rocket in California.

Sorell farmer Shane Newitt put six months of love into his giant pumpkin to compete at the Bream Creek Show, but its cancellation hasn't stopped him showing it off.

A motorcyclist dies in a crash near Port Pirie, another man dies following a crash in Finniss, while the Sturt Highway is closed after a collision near Waikerie.

Tributes are flowing for a former Queensland police officer and a respected horse stud owner killed in an outback plane crash, with investigations into the cause of the incident continuing.

Former Queensland police officer Rachel Whitford, who died in a plane crash in outback South Australia on Saturday, posted to social media shortly before that she was "grateful for another safe landing".

A woman and a man aged in their 50s are in a stable condition after the light plane they were flying in flipped upon landing at the William Creek Airport.

A former military pilot from WA is being praised after switching his light plane's engine off when it flipped during a landing on a remote SA airstrip. He and his wife are in a stable condition in hospital in Adelaide.

Despite breaking his back in several places in a light plane crash in outback SA that also injured his wife, experienced Perth pilot Jamie McAlindon is determined to get back into the cockpit.

A controversial teddy bear fence, which stretches for more than a kilometre on South Australia's Copper Coast Highway, is being deliberately hacked apart by knife-wielding "haters", its creator claims.

The NRL judiciary will have some work to do after four players are sin-binned in Newcastle's win over South Sydney, while the Raiders blank Wests Tigers in Parramatta.

The Warriors score a late try to clinch a 24-20 victory over a Knights outfit depleted by State of Origin duty and injury in Newcastle.

A State Government-commissioned review finds the risk of a NSW coal ash dam wall collapsing in an earthquake is "reasonable", but more work is needed to determine the level of risk.

The Roosters make light work of the Dragons with a commanding 34-12 triumph, as the Sharks and Tigers enjoy their dominant victories in the race for the NRL finals.

The Sharks wrap up a spot in the finals with a 25-8 win over the Tigers as Robbie Farah's career comes to a close, while the Panthers end a disappointing season with a 54-10 thrashing of the Knights.

Ian Rowland finds nearly sinking the triumphant Australia II on a 1980s advertising shoot is a far cry from marketing organically grown garlic.

A treasured piece of rail history has been destroyed in a rural NSW town despite assurances from the national rail body it would be removed with the intent to preserve it.

NSW Police confirm two men, reported to be father and son, died in a plane crash west of Coffs Harbour.

They were Australia's worst bus-crash tragedies and they happened within weeks of each other on the Pacific Highway. Fifty-six people were killed and 63 injured and 30 years on the pain still lingers for many.

Investigators reveal that an 11-year-old boy was the driver of a vehicle that overturned and killed a young girl in northern WA at the weekend.

A teenage boy was watching television on his iPad when a cattle truck slammed into his parents' caravan, killing both of them, on a Western Australian outback highway two years ago, a court is told.

A 36-year-old man is charged with murder following an alleged hit-and-run attack on two men in Perth's south in the early hours of Easter Sunday.

Micheal McRae is accused of bashing his baby son Nathaniel, leaving him with severe brain injuries, but the charge is upgraded after the boy spent a year fighting for life in hospital.

Authorities in Western Australia investigate a large mussel die-off that covered a 1km stretch of beach on the south coast last week.

Tasmanian driver Alex Peroni sustains a broken vertebra but walks away from a spectacular crash at Monza in Italy, with his survival attributed to his helmet and the round bar which protects drivers' heads.

DAILY BRIEFING: Fresh from walking away from his horror crash in Italy, race driver Alex Peroni is all smiles in hospital, as police renew their call for help to find a thief.

DAILY BRIEFING: Injured formula 3 driver Alex Peroni will return to Hobart in the next few days as questions are raised about why he was allowed to walk from a crash scene in Italy instead of being taken off by stretcher.