Five dead after four separate crashes on Victoria's roads within 48 hours, including head-on collision in Clayton South
Five people have died following four separate crashes in Victoria within 48 hours, with police issuing an urgent plea to drivers amid the fatalities.
Two of the fatalities occurred on Monday morning after a head-on crash in Clayton South, Melbourne's south-east.
A male and a female driver - the sole occupants of the vehicles they were each driving - collided at the Westall Road and Rosebank Avenue intersection just before 6am.
Both drivers were declared dead at the scene but have not yet been formally identified.
Westall Road was shut in both directions between Heatherton and Centre roads following the crash, with multiple emergency services personnel at the scene.
About 12 hours earlier, a 49-year-old Dandenong North woman died following a two-car crash in Trafalgar, in the state's Gippsland region.
The woman was a passenger in a vehicle which collided with another car at the North Canal and Willow Grove roads intersection about 5.55pm on Sunday.
Police said the car in which the woman was travelling "rolled off the road and down an embankment as a result of the collision".
The vehicle was being driven by her 52-year-old husband, with their two children, a 19-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy, also in the vehicle.
They were all rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
"It's just an absolute tragedy that we've got the loss of a life, a wife, a mother - on Mother's Day - is killed in a crash that just should never ever have occurred," Detective Sergeant Mark Amos said, the ABC reported.
There are reports one of the vehicles did not stop at a stop sign.
A 60-year-old Yarragon man who was driving the other car was left with minor injuries, while his 58-year-old female passenger, also from Yarragon, was rushed to hospital suffering serious injuries.
About 4pm on Sunday, a driver also died after a two-car collision at the intersection of Springbank and Bungaree-Creswick roads in Pootilla, near Ballarat.
The deceased driver has not yet been formally identified. The other driver was not injured in the crash.
The fourth fatal crash occurred between a motorcycle and a vehicle at the Mill and Taylors roads intersection in Moutajup, in the state's south-west, about 4.30pm on Saturday.
A 53-year-old man from Coleraine who was riding the motorcycle died at the scene, while his passenger was flown to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
A 20-year-old Lake Mundi man who was driving the vehicle was not injured.
Detectives interviewed that man but he was "released pending further enquiries".
Anyone with information about any of the crashes is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A male pedestrian was also rushed to hospital suffering critical injuries after being hit by a vehicle on on Geelong Street in West Footscray about 8.20am on Monday.
Police on Monday morning said Highway Patrol units, Public Order Response Team officers and general duties police will be "saturating freeways, highways and roads" amid National Road Safety Week.
The operation comes as provisional data for 2025 reveals speed was a factor in 31 road deaths.
"This highly visible presence is not only about detecting speedsters but also deterring others from making the same mistake," Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said.
"Every year we see the devastating impacts of speeding.
"From those whose lives are lost to their family members, partners, friends, work colleagues and emergency services who attend the scene – it ends up being many thousands of lives impacted by speeding behaviours."
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