A man left his injured female passenger in a badly damaged vehicle following a crash in Huntly yesterday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The man fled the scene after the white Daihatsu hatchback he was driving plowed into the side of a truck on the Midland Highway about 11.30am, causing the truck to roll.
Emergency services took about 25 minutes to free the woman from the vehicle.
The injured passenger, a 22-year-old Bendigo woman, was taken to Bendigo Health shortly after with a dislocated shoulder.
The driver of the truck, a Bendigo man aged in his 50s, was uninjured.
Senior Constable Brian Smith of the Bendigo Highway Patrol said the car’s driver would have been well aware the woman was injured.
“You’d have to be aware, she was bleeding enough to show that she was injured,” he said.
“By law you’re supposed to render assistance to all people involved in the collision when you know there’s someone who’s injured.”
Senior Constable Smith encouraged the man to hand himself in to police.
“He knows he shot through,” he said.
“He was seen taking bags out of the vehicle and running away.”
Ammunition and drug paraphernalia were also found in the vehicle but Senior Constable Smith said police were not pursuing drug-driving charges.
He said the car was unregistered and displaying false plates at the time of the crash.
The road was closed for about two hours while CFA and SES crews worked to clear a diesel spill after the truck’s fuel tank was dislodged in the crash.
The investigation is ongoing.
UPDATE 1.50pm: The road is now open.
UPDATE 1pm: Senior Constable Brian Smith of the Bendigo Highway Patrol said the male driver of the white Daihatsu had left the scene before police arrived.
He said the truck was travelling north to Echuca when the crash occurred.
"(The Daihatsu) has apparently pulled out to pass someone and gone into the side of the truck," he said.
The 22-year-old female passenger was taken to hospital with minor injuries to her left shoulder and hip.
The driver of the truck, a Bendigo man in his 50s, was uninjured.
No charges have been laid but inquiries are ongoing.
UPDATE 12.20pm: Incident controller Euan Paton of the Huntly fire brigade said the occupant of the car suffered minor injuries.
"She's a very lucky girl to be largely uninjured," he said.
He said there were no hazardous materials on board the truck but fire crews are still working to clear a fuel spill as its tank was dislodged in the crash.
UPDATE 12.05pm: A truck has rolled after colliding with a white hatchback on the Midland Highway in Huntly.
No one is trapped in either vehicle.
Police, SES, CFA and ambulance crews are all on scene.
UPDATE 12pm: The Midland Highway at Gungurru Road, Huntly, is closed following the crash, which involved a truck.
VicRoads is advising motorists to seek an alternate route.
Emergency services are on site diverting traffic.
EARLIER: Emergency services crews are responding to a reported crash on the Midland Highway at Huntly.
It is listed as a rescue.
More to come.