The sole survivor of a horror triple-fatality crash in Queensland’s Noosa Shire has been charged with robbery, as police confirmed the man was in a relationship with one of the victims.

Rafferty Rolfe, 25, is so far facing one count of robbery with violence whilst armed for allegedly stealing an Isuzu MU-X at knifepoint which was then used in a pursuit.

The stolen Isuzu was attempting to ram a silver Nissan Navara in which 25-year-old Gypsy Satterley was a passenger. She had been picked up on the side of the road by a 65-year-old Good Samaritan driver.

The pursued Nissan then veered onto the wrong side of the road and into the path of an oncoming Great Wall on the Bruce Highway at Federal around 4am Friday.

Police have confirmed Ms Satterley, a mum of two, was in a relationship with Rolfe.

She died at the scene of the “confronting” crash, along with the 65-year-old male driver who had come to her help.

A 38-year-old Imbil woman driving the Great Wall, Jessica Townley, was also killed, with local media reporting the alpaca breeder had celebrated her birthday just two days earlier.

The 25-year-old male driver of the stolen car, Rafferty Rolfe, was the only survivor and remains under police guard in Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

The car Rafferty was driving had been stolen 12 hours earlier in a violent daylight carjacking in the main street of Gympie, a town about 20 minutes north of the crash site.

An alert for the vehicle was issued after a man allegedly threatened a mother and three children at knifepoint as the family was getting into the Isuzu MU-X.

The terrified mother got the kids out of the vehicle before handing it over to the robber. She and the children were unharmed.

Queensland Police later spotted the stolen car but the driver refused to stop and escaped. It was not being pursued at the time of the accident.

“Police can confirm the 25-year-old Yandina man was in a relationship with the 25-year-old Yandina woman who died in the crash at Federal,” the force said in a statement.

The 38-year-old female in the Great Wall vehicle was not known to any person in those other two vehicles.

A ‘confronting’ crash scene with mangled wreckage and debris on the Bruce Highway at Federal. Photo: 9NEWS

Detective Superintendent Ben Fadian said the investigation was complex and appealed for anyone who saw the stolen Isuzu on the Bruce Highway between Federal and the Noosa turn-off between 3am and 4am to contact police.

“The tragedy is that there are three people now deceased and the ripple effect that has on their families,” Det Supt Fadian said.

Queensland Ambulance Service’s Sunshine Coast acting director Nigel Jones said it was a confronting incident.

“The scene was obviously quite confronting given the mechanism of the forces involved — it was clearly a very high-speed incident involving those vehicles,” Mr Jones said.

“Our paramedics report that the two patients were killed on impact, with a third patient, unfortunately, passing away shortly afterwards.”

The forensic crash unit is also investigating.

Rolfe is scheduled to appear in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday.