Bus and car collision on Melba Highway injures multiple, kills one driver
Consensus Summary
As of the latest reports, the investigation into the crash remains ongoing, with detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit still at the scene. The Melba Highway has been closed to traffic, and motorists are being advised to take alternative routes through Kinglake and Flowerdale, as noted by ABC. While the immediate response has focused on rescuing and treating the injured, the long-term implications for road safety and public transport in the region are likely to be a subject of further scrutiny. The tragic outcome of the collision has also prompted calls for increased attention to the safety of high-risk stretches of highway, particularly in light of the recent spate of accidents on the Melba Highway.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- A man died at the scene after a bus and two cars collided on the Melba Highway near Glenburn about 2:40pm on Thursday
- The bus involved was a public transport service operated by Mee’s Bus Lines, which departed Mansfield at about 1:30pm
- A teenage boy was airlifted to hospital with serious upper body injuries, and a man in his 50s was taken to hospital in a serious condition
- Two other teenagers were taken to hospital in a stable condition
- All 18 people on the bus, including the driver, were assessed by paramedics
- The driver and passenger of the second car (a blue Toyota) sustained minor injuries
- The collision occurred near Two Hills Road on the Melba Highway
- Emergency services, including an Air Ambulance Victoria helicopter and Advanced Life Support units, responded to the scene
- The Melba Highway was closed following the crash, with traffic diverted
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The bus crashed through a road barrier on the side of the road, and the white car’s driver died at the scene.
- The section of the Melba Highway where the crash occurred was ranked as the sixth most dangerous in the state in an RACV survey this year.
- The bus driver was an experienced, long-term driver for Mee’s and was not seriously injured.
- 16 other patients did not require emergency treatment or transport.
- The crash happened shortly before 3pm, with emergency services remaining at the scene at about 4:30pm on Thursday afternoon.
- The crash marks the third serious collision on this stretch of the Melba Highway in a matter of days.
- The collision occurred approximately 100kms northeast of Melbourne.
- The bus was a V/Line coach traveling to Southern Cross Station from Mansfield.
- A teenage girl is in a stable condition at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
- The white car was crushed beyond recognition, with its front and sides obliterated.
- The bus veered into an embankment with people stranded on the road.
Where the reporting differs
Details that conflict, or appear in only some outlets:
- ABC states the bus left Mansfield at about 1pm, while THEAGE reports it departed at about 1:30pm.
- ABC mentions the bus driver was not seriously injured, but does not specify the driver’s condition in the same detail as THEAGE, which focuses on passenger injuries.
Source Articles
Man dead, two seriously injured in Yarra Ranges bus crash
A man has died and multiple people been injured after a bus and two cars collided in Victoria's Yarra Ranges.
One dead and multiple injured as bus and car collide on Melba Highway in Victoria
Vision shows a car crushed, while the bus veered into an embankment with people stranded on the road.
‘It was a real mess’: Man dead, several injured after bus collision
A driver has died after a V/Line coach collided with two cars on an isolated road north-east of Melbourne.
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