The Bunbury man who went on a run of terror ending in a head-on crash near Capel that killed a 61-year-old Busselton woman was seen by witnesses erratically leaving a South West beach, abandoning his belongings, according to Nine News Perth.
Nine News Perth reporter Michael Genovese, who was in the town of Capel on Monday morning, said investigators were trying to string together a timeline of events that led to the 20-kilometre rampage on the wrong side of Bussell Highway on Saturday.
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Erratic driver causes fatal crash in WA
A 45-year-old male driver was filmed driving dangerously, before he deliberately swerved into oncoming traffic on the Bussell Highway on Sunday. Vision: Seven News/Sunrise
Mr Genovese said witnesses told him the 45-year-old Bunbury man had been at Wonnerup beach, about 20 kilometres from the crash site, when he suddenly left in a hurry.
"From what I've been told he left a camping stove and camping bed, some fishing gear and a table, phone and wallet all on the beach and just took off in a rush and that's where he started aiming at the other cars and a tree at one point," he said.
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The horrifying footage of the man swerving onto the wrong side of the road in his green Toyota LandCruiser was captured by Dan Mateljan as he travelled with two friends in a car behind the 4WD.
Up to 20 vehicles were forced into ditches during the horrifying incident, which lasted several minutes.
Mr Mateljan was first at the scene of the head-on crash in which 61-year-old Busselton woman Jenni Pratt lost her life. Another woman, Ms Pratt's 54-year-old passenger, was pulled from the vehicle. She remains in Bunbury Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
The crash driver was also flown to Royal Perth Hospital where he was in a critical condition on Sunday night.
'He was trying to kill someone'
"This dude is trying to kill someone for sure," Mr Mateljan can be heard saying on the footage.
Mr Mateljan called police after first seeing the vehicle driving erratically on the wrong side of the highway, but, just moments later, the 45-year-old male driver crashed head-on with the woman's car.
He was sent flying through the windscreen, with debris scattered dangerously across the busy highway before his LandCruiser caught fire, causing witnesses and motorists to stop and rush to help.
Mr Mateljan told Nine News the man went through the windscreen of the LandCruiser, and said "he was lying right in the middle of the road."
"Completely erratic, there was no explanation for it," Mr Mateljan told Nine News.
"He was physically driving his vehicle off-road to take out signs and then veering into the oncoming traffic to then deliberately have a head-on collision."
One motorist who was run off the road by the erratic vehicle told Nine News the driver appeared to be "happy" and "going nuts" in the car.
"The guy's face was unbelievable, like I've never seen before," Jake Mangini said.
"He was jumping around in his car and going nuts like he was happy about what he had actually done."
Another witness, Larz Erikkson, told Radio 6PR on Monday morning he was praying noone would fall victim to the driver's erratic actions as he and his friends followed the car while on the phone to police.
"All that went through my head was please, please don't hit someone and I hoped to God there was no innocent people that would die," he said.
"I have no idea what was going through his mind."
Mr Erikkson was one of the first to run to the crash site after the man ploughed into the RAV4 while driving on the wrong side of the road.
"When I was rushing to the site, he [the erratic driver] was on the floor and not moving... my thought process was he's the one that did this, I'm going to help the people in the RAV4 before anything else," he said.
"I wish that on no one ...I'm still shaking because of [the crash scene].. it's not a sight someone should see, what happened to her. My thoughts and prayers go out to [Jenni Pratt's] family."
Loving mother mourned
Friends on Facebook paid tribute to Ms Pratt, remembering her as a loving mother who lived life to the fullest.
'She touched our hearts with her infectious smile and giggle," one friend said.
"Such a bubbly happy soul. RIP beautiful Jen," another wrote.
"Jenni was always the most beautiful soul. She loved life and loved her family fiercely.. So so sad to hear this news."
Police want to speak to anyone else who saw the crash or the Toyota LandCruiser before the accident at Wonnerup Beach, Busselton, Layman Road, Busselton or Bussell Highway from Busselton to the Capel Drive intersection.
The stretch of Bussell Highway at Capel was just days ago named as one of the state's most dangerous roads. The highway, which has a speed limit of 110km/h, changes from a dual carriageway to a narrow single-lane road, with no overtaking lane for several kilometres.