Crashes prompt warning

By EMMA SUN
A STRING of accidents in Mount Evelyn in six days has prompted the CFA to issue a warning for all motorists to be careful on the roads.
The call comes hot on the heels of the brigade attending three car crashes, two of which could’ve been avoided.
Firefighters were called out to a crash at the newly installed lights on the intersection of York Road and Wray Crescent about 3.20pm on Saturday 11 August.
A four whee drive turning right into Wray Crescent collided head on with a sedan travelling in the opposite direction.
Police said the impact was quite severe, making it one of the most serious of about six accidents at the intersection since the lights were installed.
Wray Crescent was closed for more than an hour until the scene was cleared.
Two people including a young child were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
A three-vehicle accident at the intersection of Swansea and Birmingham roads last Wednesday about 9.30am saw two people taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Two lanes were closed off on Swansea Road for about an hour.
Firefighter Steve Deakins said it was concerning both accidents happened at controlled intersections, and urged residents to be vigilant on the roads.
“It was extremely fortunate for local residents and travellers that no one was seriously injured or worse,” he said.
“The brigade therefore urges motorists to be careful on all of our roads and in particular not to take controlled intersections for granted as serious collisions can and do occur at intersections with lights as well as intersections without lights.”
The last accident occurred about 7am on Thursday 9 August on Hereford Road near Kookaburra Lane, where a car was hit by a large tree that had been uprooted due to the weather conditions.
Firefighters in three trucks, police from the Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol and two ambulances attended the scene.
“The couple in this instance were very lucky as, if the tree had fallen a second or so later, it may have crushed the passenger compartment of the small car instead of coming down just in front of the car,” he said.
“The driver’s quick braking resulted in a comparatively minor impact with the downed tree, minimising injury to both the occupants who were both transported to hospital for observation and later released.”
He warned all road users and visitors to be aware of the current weather conditions.