Car smash horror as FIVE people die when Mercedes ‘that had just been given a speeding ticket’ runs a give way sign – leading to a catastrophe involving a 4WD ute and a truck: Driver set to be charged
- Strathmerton incident involves truck, cars
- Five people killed in crash on Thursday
A man is in police custody after five people were killed in a catastrophic collision between two cars and a B-double truck in northern Victoria.
A white Mercedes sedan was travelling along Labuan Road, in Strathmerton, when it hit a Nissan Navara at the Murray Valley Hwy intersection about 2.30pm on Thursday.
The force of the crash spun the Nissan Navara into the path of the B-double truck.
The Nissan driver, a local woman in her 60s, and her four international employees were killed instantly.
The Mercedes driver, a 29-year-old man, and his 29-year-old female passenger were taken to hospital for treatment for minor injuries.
Five people are dead after a horror crash between two cars and a B-double truck in northern Victoria on Thursday
The Nissan Navara was completely torn apart by the force of the collision
Emergency services were called to an incident in Strathmerton, just south of the NSW border, about 2:30pm on Thursday with reports of a multi-car collision (pictured, map)
They have since been released and the man was taken into police custody, where he is currently being interviewed.
Police said charges are expected to be laid and they will allege he did not stop at the intersection as required.
Assistant Commissioner of Road Policing Glen Weir said the Mercedes had been stopped by police and slapped with a speeding fine at 1.43pm after he was allegedly busted driving 18km over the speed limit.
While police are still investigating the circumstances of the crash, police believe the four international victims are from Asia and were in Australia working in the local farming industry.
At the time of the crash, the Navara driver was dropping her employees home after they spent the day working at her property, Assistant Commissioner Weir said.
The quintuple fatality is the most deadly car accident Victoria has experienced since 2012.
Assistant Commissioner Weir said the damage was so extensive police had to call in disaster identification experts and search and rescue teams to try and determine how many people were involved.
More to come.
The cause of the collision at the intersection of Murray Valley Hwy and Labuan Rd is yet to be determined (pictured, intersection)