South-west police distressed about 'cavalier' attitude of drivers

A person died after a car and truck were involved in a crash at Bolwarra on Friday afternoon, the second fatal accident on south-west roads in seven days.

The incident happened near the intersection of the Henty and Princes highways at the Warrnambool turn off, about 2.45pm on October 13, 2023.

Police said the yet-to-formally be identified driver of the car died at the scene.

A police spokesman said at the very moment news of the crash came through on the police radio, he clocked another driver at 119km/h in pouring rain on the Hamilton-Port Fairy Road in Orford.

The Purnim woman aged in her 20s was driving her partner's car that had a "significant crack" in the windscreen, the spokesman told The Standard.

"Upon being intercepted she stated her brakes didn't work too well as she skidded to a stop after being caught speeding."

Later that same afternoon, the same officer received a call from a Port Fairy colleague about an erratic driver heading towards Hamilton.

He said he intercepted the 67-year-old Hamilton driver, who almost fell out of his car before "dramatically" failing a road-side breath test.

"Once back at Hamilton police station, he recorded a breath alcohol reading of .138, nearly three times the limit," he said .

"His licence was immediately cancelled and his car impounded for a month at a cost of more than $1100."

The man will face court at a later date, as well as a mandatory loss of licence for the 13 months, a significant fine and a subsequent interlock.

"Police thank the alert member of the public, who was so concerned about the driving of this male, that they rang Port Fairy police, which resulted in having the drunk driver removed from our roads," the spokesman said.

"Police continue to be distressed about the cavalier attitude of drivers to the trauma that is caused by poor driving and ask that anyone seeing significantly poor driving, contact triple-zero."

Friday's tragedy came after a man died in a crash at Simpson on October 6. And a day after an international driver on the wrong side of the Great Ocean Road caused a crash at Princetown.

Two experienced police officers, who attended the Simpson crash scene earlier this month, observed a driver at 160km/h just an hour into their next shift.

Just a month earlier, a man was seriously injured in a head-on collision on the Princes Highway, about one kilometre west of Port Fairy.

Police on that day clocked a drug-driver at 155kmh just 40 minutes before the head-on, delaying the police response to the life-threatening incident.

The death at Bolwarra was the 16th person killed on south-west roads since January this year - six more than the total number of fatalities recorded in the region in 2022.

The worst road toll in a decade was in 2014 when 17 people died.

Anyone who witnessed the Bolwarra collision or has footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.

Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; beyondblue 1300 224 636.

IN OTHER LOCAL NEWS:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: