TWO Cairns men died instantly last night after their car went out of control at high speed on the Bruce Highway north of Edmonton and smashed into a billboard.

The men, believed to be in their 30s, were both in the front of the white sedan which crumpled on impact with the sign, just north of the Robert Rd turnoff, about 10.15pm.

Badly shaken witnesses at the horror crash site spoke of seeing the car being driven erratically as it overtook southbound traffic before plunging off the highway and skidding across the grass for about 100m then ploughing into the sign.

"They overtook us, then they overtook another car and lost it," said distraught mother Melissa Dalby, who saw the accident unfold while driving home to Bentley Park with her husband and two children in the back.

"My husband ran over and tried to assist the passengers but there was nothing he could do."

Traffic Branch Acting Insp Preben Farbaek said that tragically, the accident appeared to be yet another case of people not driving to the road rules.

"Speed kills basically. This is proof positive," Insp Farbaek said.

"Their lives are over because of it and everybody else will have to live with the
consequences.

"They paid the ultimate price obviously but everyone else who knows them will continue to pay."

Distressed relatives of the two men arrived at the scene about 11pm and were helping police with information.

One of the southbound lanes of the Bruce Highway was closed last night as emergency crews worked at the crash scene.

The latest deaths are believed to bring the Far Northern road toll so far this year to 14

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