Smash ‘carnage’

By Mara Pattison-Sowden
EIGHT people were lucky to have escaped serious injury after three cars collided in what police described as “a scene of road carnage” in Coldstream last Friday (2 July).
The collision occurred about 1.30pm on the corner of Maroondah Highway and the service lane to Tarrawarra Road, near the Domaine Chandon winery.
Senior Constable Patrick Morel, from Lilydale police, said a young couple in a silver Toyota Corolla were travelling west towards Coldstream, when the male driver indicated to turn right into the service road towards Tarrawarra.
A young family of four in a green Hyundai Accent were travelling behind the Corolla.
Sen Const Morel said it appeared the Hyundai ran into the Corolla, pushing it into a yellow Suzuki Swift travelling in the opposite direction, towards Healesville.
He said that although there had been some patchy rain, the area was dry at the time and rain wasn’t a factor.
The occupants of the Suzuki were the 55-year-old male driver, who suffered a fractured ankle and chest injuries, and a 46-year-old woman who also suffered leg and chest injuries.
The occupants of the silver Toyota, the 24-year-old male driver and a 24-year-old woman, were briefly knocked unconscious.
All four patients were taken to Maroondah Hospital in a stable condition.
The family of four from the green Hyundai were taken to Box Hill Hospital with minor injuries.
This included a three-year-old boy with a head injury, a 28-year-old pregnant woman taken in as a precaution, a man in his 30s and an 18-month-old girl, for observation.
Coldstream CFA Captain John Fenton said the scene was one of “road carnage”.
“It’s been a long while since we’ve had something so bad. The police are doing a really good job keeping it safe on the roads,” he said.
“But people still need to be vigilant, switched on and concentrating on what they’re doing while driving.”
The scene required five ambulances, four fire trucks and two police cars.
Police are still investigating the cause of the collision.