By Mitchell Clarke
The mother of a man who was airlifted to hospital after a horror crash in Pakenham South is pleading for the speed limit to be reduced along one of the shire’s most notorious roads.
Jason, surname withheld, was waiting to turn right into his house off Kooweerup Road just before 5pm on Wednesday 27 January, when a car allegedly crashed into the back of him and pushed his vehicle into oncoming traffic.
His mother, Vicki, told the Gazette it was a “miracle” that he didn’t sustain more serious injuries.
“He had just finished work and was stopped waiting to turn into home. The car behind him slowed down to overtake him but the next car obviously didn’t see and slammed into him at speed,” she said.
“They were obviously distracted. Whether they were on the phone, I don’t know.”
The brick worker needed to be “urgently” freed from his blue Mitsubishi after being trapped in his vehicle for some time.
Paramedics had to stabilise him on scene before he could be transferred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
“He was in a shocking way. He doesn’t remember going into the ambulance. He doesn’t remember the accident, he only remembers being pulled from the car,” Vikki recalled.
“It would’ve been very painful for him.”
Vikki said she hopes her son’s crash will spark a conversation about road safety.
In the immediate future, while long term works are being carried out, she wants the speed limit along Kooweerup Road to be reduced to 60km/h and for traffic lights to be installed where possible.
“It’s easy to tell people to slow down, but they’re not going to until council or VicRoads changes the speed limit or puts lights in,” she said.
“People will whinge about that but too bad. Just slow down, it’s not a race. It’s not Bathurst. This is a road that is so notorious.
“People are scared to drive on that road but imagine living on that road and pulling out onto that every day. I’ve told Jason for ages that I hate the road. It’s just shocking.”
