THE weekend early morning collision that claimed the lives of three young men followed a tragic trend, a senior police officer said.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Tim Hansen said that speed, alcohol and vehicle safety are all elements being investigated by the specialist police major collision investigation.
“It would be fair to say it took some time for the investigators to actually identify what type of vehicle it was,” he said.
He said that the type of country road where the tragedy unfolded was becoming all too familiar for police investigators.
Young men, predominantly, dying in collisions late at night on quiet country roads are familiar factors for investigating police officers.
Three men, all aged 21, died in the collision on the Boort-Kerang Road shortly before 12.30am on Sunday. They were the driver, a German national, and two Canadians.
A British man, aged 19, remains in a critical condition after being airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
A German man, aged 29, was also transferred to Melbourne with non life-threatening injuries.
Their station wagon struck a wooden bridge railing, careered out of control, overturned and came to rest on its side in a clump of trees, just south of the Normanville Road turn-off, about 15 kilometres south-west of Kerang.
“Police are looking at speed, alcohol and vehicle safety as likely factors behind the crash,” he said.
“At this stage, it is believed the vehicle rounded a left-hand, sweeping bend near the intersection of Normanville Road, and we’re investigating the likelihood that the vehicle’s tyres came in contact with the gravel shoulder of the road, the driver lost control, the vehicle flipped and then [hit] a cluster of trees,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Hansen said.
“Just because the speed limit of a road is 100 kilometres per hour does not mean it is suitable to drive at 100 kilometres per hour,” he said.
“If you want to see your loved ones continue to live through to 2018 it is important to continue to have discussions about driving safely.”
The deaths are the first to occur on roads within the Shire of Gannawarra since December 2014. The Victorian road toll is 166, 35 less than the same time last year.
