Two women remain in hospital with serious injuries following a stabbing and a car crash in northern Tasmania yesterday afternoon.
Emergency services were called to a home in Exeter, north of Launceston, about 4:30pm, after reports a woman had sustained "serious stab wounds".
"The woman involved in the stabbing incident managed to make a phone call to Triple-0, she was then immediately assisted by a family member, who completed the call," Tasmania Police Detective Inspector Stuart Greenwood said.
Inspector Greenwood said when police arrived they provided initial medical assistance to the woman in her 40s, who was then taken to the Launceston General Hospital's intensive care unit.
She remains in a serious but stable condition.
Inspector Greenwood said investigations indicated the injuries were inflicted by a man, 42, whom the woman had been in a relationship with for about six months.
He said the couple, from Perth in Western Australia, were visiting Tasmania and stayingat a relative's house in Exeter. They had arrived in the state on Wednesday.
Inspector Greenwood said two of the woman's children were also at the house at the time of the stabbing, but that they were not direct witnesses.
"From the scene it was determined that that male had left the address in a blue Skoda and headed south on the West Tamar Highway.
"Very shortly after this, police received a report that the vehicle had been driving erratically and had been involved in a serious collision at the intersection of Atkinsons Road and the West Tamar Highway at Legana."
The crash was called in just before 4:40pm.
A man was declared dead at the scene.
Inspector Greenwood said the man, driving south, collided with a woman, 39, who was travelling north.
Detective Inspector Stuart Greenwood says the crash scene was "very distressing" for emergency services personnel and members of the public who happened to witness it. (ABC News: Hayden Smith)
"That female driver has been transferred to the Royal Hobart Hospital and remains in a critical condition," Inspector Greenwood said.
"That particular section of highway is a 100-kilometre an hour zone. It is a busy arterial route.
"I can tell you from attending the scene and from the attendance of officers in the first instance, it was confronting, it was traumatic and it was chaotic.
"It was a very distressing scene for all emergency services and members of the public who happened to witness it."
Emergency services were called to a house in Exeter where a woman had received serious stab wounds. (ABC News: Hayden Smith)
He said police believed the man had been involved in a "series of very minor collisions along the West Tamar Highway" before the crash.
Officers remained at the scene of the crash until late into the night.
Inspector Greenwood said investigations were continuing.
"I would like to pass on our thoughts to the women involved, their families, and everybody else who's witnessed this horrific incident," he said.
Police are appealing for anyone with relevant dashcam footage or information to contact Tasmania Police on 131 444, or provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers Tasmania.
Inspector Greenwood said of particular interest would be any footage of a blue Skoda travelling on the West Tamar Highway in the lead up to the crash.
He said Tasmania Police had spoken with WA Police, which did not have any records of violence in relation to the man and his partner.
