By Rowan Forster
William and Benson are the two faces behind a community-wide push to upgrade the treacherous Old Princes Highway-O’Neil Road intersection in Beaconsfield.
The two boys were injured during a peak-hour crash at the junction on Thursday, 24 January.
Benson was rushed by ambulance to Monash Children’s Hospital and admitted for several days, suffering from bruising and impact trauma.
While being driven to swimming lessons by a family friend, the vehicle they were inside was T-boned by another driver – behind a heavy duty Isuzu D-Max.
Their parents learnt of the collision by phone call, and both were petrified.
Both believe it is a miracle that William and Benson walked away from the scene.
The driver, a family friend, was turning off O’Neil Road when she was goaded and pressured by a motorist behind her.
She reportedly took a slim window to turn onto the Old Princes Highway – feeling threatened by the driver behind her – when she was hit at high speed.
Their parents believe the kids were lucky to be alive.
“Our boys could have been dead – we were lucky,” William and Benson’s mum, who did not yet want to be identified, said.
“We are going to push and push until something is done about this intersection, because it shouldn’t take a fatality for something to change.”
“It is so busy and it is so unsafe and if there’s anything positive that’s going to come out of this, we’re going to go after it.”
The boys were adept with road safety precautions, which William and Benson’s father suspects kept them safe.
“The boys have been in the car with me and I tell them where they need to watch and where they need to sit,” he said.
“Benson saw the car coming and he moved his body and his head away from the window.”
Since Thursday’s frightening accident, the Beaconsfield family has contacted Cardinia Shire Council and Gembrook MP Brad Battin to vent their frustrations.
While Mr Battin revealed that he working behind the scenes to lobby a petition, council said it was hamstrung to act.
“We have skate parks, new playgrounds, so there is money – they need to reprioritise or our kids won’t be alive to use those facilities,” the Beaconsfield mum added.
The ownership of the Old Princes Highway is reportedly with VicRoads, while Cardinia Shire maintains O’Neil Road.
It has been an issue on Councillor Brett Owen’s agenda for some time.
In November, Cr Owen told council’s CEO Carol Jeffs that the intersection is at capacity – witness to a large number of vehicle collisions.
Mrs Jeffs said Cardinia Shire is relying on State Government funding, which has not yet been committed.
