Lucky escape for truck passengers
A MAN from Kerang has died and another has been left with serious injuries following a horrific three-vehicle crash at Lake Boga yesterday morning.
The Murray Valley Highway was closed for at least three hours as emergency crews worked at the scene, attending to victims and clearing debris strewn along the road.
Police said the accident occurred when a white Ford Falcon sedan travelling south along the highway veered on to the opposite side of the road, colliding head-on with an oncoming truck at about 11.40am.
The truck then hit a Nissan Patrol travelling behind the sedan before swerving off the road and clipping a tree, coming to rest about five metres from the road’s edge.
The Patrol was towing a dog trailer with at least five dogs, as well as cats and guinea pigs, inside.
The driver of the Falcon, a Kerang man, sustained multiple injuries and was unconscious when ambulance crews arrived at the scene.
Emergency crews worked on the man for about 45 minutes, cutting him from the vehicle and tending to his injuries, but he died at the scene.
There were three occupants in the truck, which was carrying concrete products from Kerang-based company Ag-Crete Industries to the Mallee Machinery Field Days.
The truck driver, a 50-year-old male from Kerang, received serious leg and chest injuries and was flown to Melbourne for treatment.
The passengers, 48-year-old Donald Kelly and a five-year-old boy, both from Kerang, escaped with minor injuries.
The trailer carrying the animals was flipped on to its side during the accident, sustaining serious damage.
The driver of the Nissan Patrol, a 68-year-old man from South Australia, was unharmed. In a statement, police said that at least two dogs died as a result of the collision.
Traffic was diverted to avoid the scene as the clean-up took place, which was still ongoing at 4pm yesterday.
Swan Hill Police Acting Senior Sergeant Robin McDonald said investigations into the incident were underway and it was unknown what made the sedan veer to the wrong side of the road.
He said drivers should take care in all weather conditions.
“Even in the best weather conditions — and we have had some wild weather lately — drivers still need to be on their game,” he said.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
