In January 2012, a ute swerved into the path of a B-double truck, which then veered off road and crashed into two houses at Urunga. 11-year-old boy Max McGregor, who was sleeping in one of the houses, and the ute driver died from the incident. Another seven people were taken to Coffs Harbour Hospital. It was found that the ute driver had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.245, five times over the limit and is equal to about 25 to 30 standard drinks. The section of the highway through Urunga was bypassed in 2016.