Tragedy in Melbourne as out-of-control car smashes into family – killing a woman and leaving a two-year-old boy seriously injured
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- A family was struck by a car from behind
- Woman died and two others rushed to hospital
- Elderly driver, 91, yet to be interviewed
The elderly driver who lost control of her car and mowed down a family walking along a footpath from behind won’t be interviewed until the weekend over the fatal collision that claimed the life of a woman and seriously injured a toddler.
A silver Toyota Yaris, driven by the 91-year-old woman, mounted the footpath on Coleman Road in Wantirna South, in Melbourne’s east, shortly before 12.30pm on Thursday.
Three members of the same family – a 59-year-old woman, a 60-year-old man, and a two-year-old boy – were walking along the footpath in the same direction as the car when they were struck.
The woman died at the scene.
The man, believed to be the woman’s partner, is fighting for his life in The Alfred Hospital.
The boy was rushed to The Royal Children’s Hospital with life-threatening injuries but is now in a stable condition.
Victoria Police are yet to confirm the relationship between the victims.
The ‘terribly shaken’ elderly driver escaped with minor scratches and was taken to hospital for assessment and blood testing.
A woman is dead and two others have been seriously injured after being hit by a car while walking on the footpath
The car travelled downhill for 200m after hitting the trio before crashing through a fence
The elderly driver remains in hospital and is not expected to be interviewed by detectives until the the weekend, Victoria Police revealed on Friday.
It’s understood she collided with a street sign and struck the pedestrians before her car ploughed through a fence and came to a stop near a children’s playground.
‘It came from behind,’ Superintendent Justin Goldsmith told reporters.
‘It looks like it has lost control about 40m or 50m before the collision with the people who were walking on the other side of that road.
‘No one was hit at the park thankfully.’
It’s unknown whether the driver will face charges.
Supt Goldsmith said it was too early to say whether the driver had suffered a medical episode when she lost control.
Crash investigators will examine whether speed was a contributing factor.
‘That will be subject to the investigation, but it is a downhill section of road, so if there has been a lack of control to some degree there is a possibility the car would have picked up speed as it’s driven further down Coleman Road,’ Supt Goldsmith said.
The car finally came to a stop metres away from a children’s playground after smashing into a park bench
Victorian Police Superintendent Justin Goldsmith (pictured) described the fatal collision as an ‘absolute tragedy’
It comes after CCTV emerged of an out-of-control car traveling along Coleman Road moments before the collision.
The footage also showed a couple pushing a pram along a footpath. It is unclear if the group was the same trio who were hit in the collision.
The crash happened during the first week of Victorian school holidays and brought the state’s road toll to 14 lives lost in the last seven days.
‘We’re facing a horrific month for road trauma,’ Supt Goldsmith said.
‘We’ve lost so many lives and had so many life-threatening injuries over the course of last week (and it) is completely horrific and unacceptable.’
Victoria has recorded a number of deadly crashes involving out-of-control vehicles in recent years.
In November, a kindergarten worker and a three-year-old boy was injured when a runaway truck smashed through the gate of Macedon Ranges Montessori Preschool’s playground.
Police (pictured at the crash scene) are yet to formally interview the elderly woman, 91, who was behind the wheel
Two weeks earlier, an 11-year-old boy was killed and four other students injured when an SUV crashed through a fence at Auburn South Primary School in Melbourne’s east.
Five people were killed and six injured in November 2023 when a diabetic driver passed out behind the wheel and crashed into patrons seated outside the Royal Daylesford Hotel.
The driver was charged, but the allegations were ultimately struck out after a magistrate found there was not enough evidence to support a conviction.
