A MAN and his daughter were killed in a two-car smash near Babinda yesterday while an eight-year-old girl, the man's granddaughter, was last night fighting for her life in Cairns hospital.

The tragedy that hit the Babinda family has shocked the tight-knit town south of Cairns with locals saying the victims will be sorely missed.

The horrific accident happened shortly after 2pm when a Toyota Corolla driven by the Babinda man and a four-wheel-drive collided head-on near the intersection of the Bruce Highway and Monroe St.

Police said the man and woman died at the scene.

The eight-year-old girl was rushed to Babinda Hospital with serious injuries to her legs and was later airlifted to Cairns Base Hospital. She was in a serious but stable condition last night after having a series of operations on her legs.

While names of the victims had not been officially released last night, their identity was known to residents.

"He was a nice old bloke, just a lovely bloke," one man said of the man who died, who was believed to be aged in his 60s.

Another man, who lives near the site of the fatal accident, said he was still in shock.

"It’s just terrible," he said.

"He and some others always used to sit up on the bench out front of the newsagency every morning, you’d always see them sit outside there."

He also told The Cairns Post that stretch of the Bruce Highway was notorious for accidents.

"I’ve seen a few there," he said.

"A bloke died in just about that spot a couple of years ago."

Both passengers in the other vehicle sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene before being taken to Babinda Hospital. Police are still investigating the cause of the accident with crash scene investigators spending most of the afternoon poring over the wrecks.

The double fatality was part of a horror day on Queensland’s roads with a 34-year-old man killed in an earlier single-vehicle smash south of Maryborough.

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