Petrol theft fuels two-car smash

By Sarah Schwager and Callan Date
A PETROL theft and fast getaway left two men in hospital on Sunday after a serious collision in Narre Warren.
Police said a man had filled his car with petrol at the Apco Service Station in Cranbourne at 6am but left without paying.
Police identified the car as having stolen registration plates.
The car, driven by a 30-year-old Narre Warren man, then sped along Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road and was involved in a collision with another car near the intersection of Golf Links Road.
Police said the collision left one car wrapped around a power pole and the second vehicle smashed up 100 metres down the road.
The incident on Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road occurred about 6.15am and required both drivers to be cut from the wreckage of their cars by emergency services.
Police said the two cars involved were travelling in the same direction when they collided about 30 metres south of Fleetwood Drive.
The Narre Warren man driving a white Honda sedan was found in the front passenger foot well.
A 43-year-old Deer Park man was trapped for about 30 minutes in the wreckage of his green Mazda sedan after the collision.
Both men were transported to hospital via ambulance in a serious condition, one taken to Dandenong Hospital and the other to The Alfred hospital.
There were no passengers in the cars.
Narre Warren CFA captain Noel Collins said crews from Hallam and Narre Warren CFA attended the scene along with the Pakenham Road Accident Rescue Team.
“This was a challenging incident for all involved because of the large impact and the large distance that the incident was spread over,” Capt Collins said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Bernie Kaminski from Cranbourne CIU said detectives had set up a taskforce to deal with petrol drive-offs.
He said just last week a man was charged with multiple offences including driving with stolen registration plates.
Police are continuing to investigate the crash and wish to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Senior Constable Mick Van Hammond at Cranbourne CIU in relation to criminal offences on 5991 0661 or Senior Constable Shane Robinson at Casey TMU in relation to traffic offences on 9705 3176.