FRIENDS of a young Sea Lake father who died as a result of a horror high-speed crash on the Mornington Peninsula have taken to social media to express their grief.
James Horsman, 31, suffered life-threatening injuries after he lost control of the car he was driving and smashed into a Dromana holiday house at 8.40pm Sunday.
He succumbed to his injuries in the Alfred hospital on Wednesday morning.
Mr Horsman’s backseat passenger Heath Barling was killed instantly in the crash, while a 27-year-old Dromana man travelling in the front passenger seat is in a serious condition in hospital.
Tributes have flowed online for Mr Horsman, who leaves behind a wife, Sam, and daughter Mia.
The couple was only married in October.
“My heart [goes] out to your family and your beautiful wife Sam and your beautiful daughter Mia, who will never get to know what a great dad you were,” one friend wrote on Facebook.
Other friends described him as a “top bloke” and a “great guy”.
While detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit are still investigating, initial inquiries suggest Mr Horsman was travelling at nearly double the 60km/h speed limit prior to the crash.
They say the men were heading into Dromana to get some dinner when Mr Horsman lost control after trying to overtake another vehicle on McCulloch Street.
The car mounted the kerb and hit a tree, before smashing into the garage of the vacant holiday home.
The deaths of Mr Horsman and Mr Barling bring the Victorian road toll to 97.
