60-year-old man dies after Wantirna crash in Melbourne

West Australian

12-07-2025

A second person has died following Thursday's horror crash in Wantirna South in Melbourne.
Victoria Police confirmed late on Saturday night that a 60-year-old man had succumbed to the injuries he suffered in the crash and passed away in hospital.
A 59-year-old woman also died in the crash.
A two-year-old boy was hit and received non life-threatening injuries.
The trio are believed to be from the same family and the two adults are reportedly the grandparents of the little boy.
The police have arrested a 91-year-old woman, who has yet to be interviewed.
She received minor injuries in the crash.
'The investigation into the exact circumstances surrounding the collision remains ongoing,' the police said.
The woman is believed to have lost control of her Toyota Yaris on Coleman Rd in Wantirna South, Melbourne at about 12.20pm on Thursday.
The vehicle struck a man, woman, and child before ploughing through a fence.
Witness Heather Webber told reporters she 'ran straight out' of the house after hearing a 'funny, weird sound'.
Outside, she discovered the 60-year-old man lying on the path.
'There he was, the poor chap, lying on his back,' she said, adding she was 'first one to see the … gentleman on the path'.
'He was nicely dressed … just a (cardigan), I think, and the bleeding was excessive,' she said.
Ms Webber's husband called the paramedics 'straight away'.
She told reporters she was 'very disturbed' by the crash, and was unable to sleep on Thursday night.
She recalled the young boy 'clinging to someone who helped him'.
'There was another lady who picked him up,' she said.
Locals could be seen paying respect to the victims at the scene of the crash, including the Wong family, who lay flowers on the path.
Police said they were still working to establish the speed of the car at the time of the incident.
'It is a downhill section of road, so if there has been a lack of control to some degree, there is a possibility that the car would have picked up speed as it streamed down,' Superintendent Justin Goldsmith said on Friday.
'We don't have enough information to say that it's a high-speed crash or that speed is a contributing factor at this stage.'
It is unclear if a medical episode contributed to the incident.
Police said the car mounted the footpath for about 40-50m before hitting the pedestrians who were on the path.
'Tragically that vehicle has collided with a couple and a child,' Mr Goldsmith said.
'That driver has then continued with some degree of lack of control down Coleman Rd and has collided with a street sign, and then has ended up in the reserve about 200m from the collision scene.'
The heavily damaged car remains in the park appearing to have crashed into a bench.
The crash is the latest in a string of road fatalities in Victoria.
'Unfortunately, we're facing a horrific month for road trauma,' Mr Goldsmith said.
'We've had 14 people lose their lives in seven days. Consider that for the month of July, compared to June, where we lost 12 people for the entire month … we've lost so many lives and had so many life-threatening injuries over the course of last week (and it) is completely horrific and unacceptable.'