Above: The utility in the second incident after its doors were removed to free the trapped driver. Left: The van involved in the second incident on Berwick-Clyde Road.By Sarah Schwager
TWO men remained in hospital yesterday after a series of related car accidents in Clyde North last Friday.
Three people were seriously injured when they were involved in a head-on collision in the morning.
The collision happened after a 1000-litre plastic water tank came off a Holden Rodeo Ute on Berwick-Clyde Road. Attempting to avoid the water tank, a Ford Falcon sedan and a van travelling in opposite directions hit head-on in the 100 kilometre an hour zone.
The crash occurred one kilometre south of Grices Road at 6.25am last Friday.
The driver of the sedan, a 30-year-old Cranbourne man, was thrown from the car, landing on the road.
He received serious abdominal injuries.
The two passengers in the van, a Berwick man and woman, received serious injuries to the chest.
All three were airlifted by helicopter to the Alfred Hospital. The Cranbourne man and Berwick man were yesterday reported to be in a stable condition.
At 6.45am, there was a second accident at the intersection of Berwick-Clyde Road and Grices Road.
A white Toyota Hilux Ute and a white 2003 Mazda van collided, causing the ute to career off the road and into a nearby paddock.
Police, ambulance, CFA and SES units rushed to the scene and rescuers had to use specialist hydraulic cutters to remove both of the driver’s side doors.
The driver of the ute, a Cranbourne North man, was cut free from the car and airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He has since been discharged.
A 26-year-old Berwick man, who was driving the van, was taken by ambulance to a local medical centre, but was not admitted to hospital.
Police said the traffic was held up for most of the morning, blocking the whole road, while the helicopter landed and the scene was cleared.
The driver and passengers of the Holden Rodeo, a 44-year-old Somerville man, a 19-year-old Langwarrin man and a23-year-old Frankston North man, were not injured.
