About 3.30pm on Tuesday, emergency services responded to a crash on the Barrier Highway, 41 kilometres east of Cobar, in which a Toyota Hilux towing a caravan had lost control and tipped.

A 64-year-old woman and a 66-year-old man were both trapped for some time before being airlifted to hospital.

The woman, who was taken to North Shore Hospital, suffered suspected broken bones while the man, who was taken to Orange hospital, suffered minor injuries. 

While managing traffic, police observed a man driving past while allegedly holding his mobile phone on the steering wheel to film the crash scene.

The 55-year-old man was stopped by officers and issued an infringement notice for using his mobile phone while driving.

Inspector Steven Munn said messages on the dangers of using mobile phones while driving are clearly not getting through to some people.

“Here we have a serious crash where people are trapped and injured, and then we have a person idiotically filming the incident on their mobile phone as they drive past,” Inspector Munn said. 

“I’d like to say it’s unbelievable, but sadly, over 29 years in the police, I can tell you it is not uncommon to see drivers using phones, driving too fast or watching emergency services rather than paying attention to their driving at crash sites.

“Police, Ambulance and volunteers from the SES and RFS were at this scene with an important job to do – we are trying to help those in the crash, we’re trying to keep the traffic moving and we’re trying to keep everyone else safe. 

“Instead we’re having to chase after someone who thinks it’s okay to break the law and put his life and the lives of others in danger by using his mobile phone while driving. This is completely unacceptable.”

Meanwhile, investigations into the crash are continuing. 

While the cause of this crash is yet to be determined police would like to remind drivers who are towing to be aware of the gross vehicle mass of their vehicle and trailer to ensure they are not overloaded.