Driver survives chaos and carnage

By Jessica Howard

The condition of a driver involved in a significant two truck collision on the Western
Freeway has been updated to stable.

A spokesperson for The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne told the Moorabool News that the
driver was now in a stable condition and remained under the care of doctors following
the multi-truck collision on Friday August 25.

The collision happened on the Western Freeway near Bacchus Marsh at around 7:40am.
Police said it was believed the truck collided with the rear of the other. The driver, aged
in his 50s, was treated for head injuries at the scene and flown to hospital in a critical
condition.

Bacchus Marsh Fire Brigade 2nd Lieutenant Ryan O’Shannessy said the collision was the
most significant freeway accident the brigade had attended to in some time.

“On arrival, there was a large amount of diesel on the road, one truck that was on fire and debris everywhere,” he said.

“The driver was located between the semi-truck and running fuel that was on fire, and
the other truck that had crashed.

“It was quite a precarious situation. The man was severely injured and bystanders were
administering first aid until emergency services arrived”.

Mr O’Shannessy said the truck that was on fire was carrying roof tiles, while the other
was carrying general goods.

He said around ten CFA appliances attended the scene, including resources from Melton.
“The incident was very challenging and caused the freeway to be shut both in and out
bound for a number of hours.

“Approximately 400-600 litres of fuel had spilt on the road surface, as well as oil from the
truck. Amazingly, the other driver survived with some minor injuries and walked away
from the scene”.

Mr O’Shannessy said the Western Freeway was opened around 12-hours after the
incident.

“I commend the bystanders for their efforts to assist the injured driver until emergency
services arrived. It was a challenging incident for everyone who worked together – the
CFA, Victoria Police, SES, and representatives from VicRoads and the Environment
Protection Authority.

“The support that was offered by paid CFA staff was greatly appreciated and by working
together we achieved the best possible outcome, which was minimising damage to the
truck involved, ensuring no other bystanders were hurt or injured and re-opening the
freeway as quickly as possible.

“Besides the driver who was extensively injured, the incident itself was well managed and
had an outcome that was positive for the community”