By Gabriella Payne
Emergency responders and an air ambulance attended the scene of a crash on the Pakenham Bypass’s Melbourne bound lanes in Officer, after a vehicle allegedly collided with a concrete barrier and spun out, hitting another car.
A spokesperson from Ambulance Victoria confirmed paramedics were called to the scene on the Pakenham Bypass, just past Cardinia Road, at about 12.30pm on Wednesday 12 May.
A man believed to be in his 30s was injured in the collision and airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, with Ambulance Victoria saying that it looked like his vehicle had “gone into the barrier”.
Ambulance Victoria said that the man had sustained serious “head injuries and a hip injury” in the crash and he remains in hospital in a serious yet stable condition.
A local resident informed the Gazette that the vehicle had been driving at about “150km p/h in the emergency lane” when “it hit the barrier then span”, hitting her 24-year-old brother.
The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said that her brother had escaped with minor injuries, despite nearly being “pushed off the road” and felt lucky to be alive.
“He’s really really shaken up, [because] he was so close to ending up in the same state as that guy,” she said.
The man who crashed into the barrier was trapped in his vehicle for some time and was freed at about 1.20pm, almost an hour later, and then flown to hospital.
The Victorian Department of Transport and Victoria Police closed the Pakenham Bypass inbound lanes in Officer due to the serious collision.
Chris Miller, a spokesperson for the Department of Transport said that the delays caused had been “quite extensive” and he had urged drivers to remain patient on the roads.
“The Melbourne-bound lanes of the freeway will re-open when investigations are complete and it’s safe to do so,” Mr Miller said.
Drivers were advised to “allow plenty of extra travel time” as they detoured around the accident.
Mr Miller said that the roads were heavily congested as the traffic that was normally on the bypass was suddenly combined with the traffic on the Princes Highway.
“Unfortunately it is what it is,” Mr Miller said at the time.
Vehicles that were caught on the Princes Freeway behind the crash were turned around through an emergency access point to the outbound lanes, with a few large trucks remaining stuck, unable to make the turn.
Mr Miller said there had been “some fairly poor driver behaviour in the area” at the time of the crash, with frustrated drivers mounting the grass and people getting out of their cars to see if they could “have a look” – something he urged people not to do.
The Victorian Department of Transport released a statement just after 4pm on Wednesday afternoon, stating that the Pakenham Bypass had re-opened to motorists.
The right lane remained closed at the time while response crews worked to clear the scene, and traffic throughout the area remained congested for some time.
