By Jesse Graham
A HORRIFIC head-on crash in Coldstream yesterday has left two Yarra Valley drivers seriously injured in hospital, with one fighting for life.
At 7.50am on Monday 11 August, Police believe a 29 year old Warburton woman, who was driving a silver car towards Healesville, veered onto the wrong side of the highway near Maxwells Road.
Her car went straight into a red Ford Cougar, driven by a 43 year old Healesville man, and both drivers ended up semi-conscious and trapped inside their vehicles.
Emergency services responded in force, closing the Maroondah Highway and cutting the two drivers out of their cars, to be taken to hospital by two waiting helicopters.The Warburton woman was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with critical injuries to her head, a fractured leg and pelvis injuries – the Healesville man was taken to the Alfred Hospital with leg fractures and pelvis injuries.
The highway remained closed in both directions for about five hours, while Victoria Police’s Major Collision Unit assessed the scene and combed through debris.
Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol Leading Senior Constable, Andrew Shenton, said police were trying to figure out why the silver car veered into the wrong lane.
“For some reason, the silver car heading to Healesville has gone on the wrong side of the road… and that’s the end result,” he said.
“We’re unsure as to why that’s happened – we’re not sure if she’s drifted across or attempted to overtake.
“It’s not a spot where you’d think about overtaking.”
Healesville High School’s Troy Jansen was travelling immediately behind the car, and said the driver was behaving erratically from Coldstream to the crash site.
“They were all over the road,” he said.
“By the time we got to St Hubert’s Road, I called 000 and said ‘this person is actually going to kill someone’.
“There were heaps of near-misses on the way. She was veering and turned into oncoming traffic.”
Mr Jansen said that, when the crash happened, he had to swerve quickly to avoid being part of the pile up.
“She got flung back around, and I had to go flying around her – by the time I pulled over, people were running down,” he said.
LSC Shenton urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 18000 333 000 or to submit a confidential report to www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
