A 12-year-old boy has died in a Melbourne hospital, days after sustaining critical injuries in a five-vehicle pile-up on one of the city’s busiest arterial freeways. The catastrophic collision unfolded just after 2 p.m. local time this past Sunday on the Stud Road off-ramp of the Monash Freeway, located in the Dandenong North suburb, triggering an immediate large-scale response from state emergency services.
Aerial footage captured by 7News’ helicopter reveals the devastating aftermath of the crash, with one passenger vehicle bearing visible, extensive structural damage from the impact. Among those hurt most severely were a 36-year-old woman from Sunbury and the 12-year-old boy, both occupants of a Mazda 3 that was caught in the collision. The pair was airlifted and rushed to area hospitals for urgent care immediately after first responders arrived at the scene.
Victoria Police confirmed the child’s death in an official statement released Wednesday, verifying that he passed away from his critical injuries on Tuesday. The 36-year-old woman who was traveling with him remains in hospital in an ongoing care regime as of Wednesday. An 8-year-old girl, also a passenger in the same Mazda 3, was transported to hospital with only minor injuries following the crash.
Three people from a second vehicle, a blue Mitsubishi, were also admitted to hospital for treatment. The group includes a 68-year-old woman from Campbellfield, a 39-year-old woman from Glenroy, and a 6-year-old girl, all of whom sustained injuries that are not considered life-threatening. No other injuries were reported among the occupants of the remaining three vehicles involved: a BMW, a Volkswagen Tiguan, and a white Mitsubishi.
The 34-year-old Berwick man who was operating the Volkswagen at the time of the collision was taken into custody by police following the incident, but has since been released from custody pending the completion of further investigative inquiries. Detectives assigned to the Victoria Police Major Collision Investigation Unit are still working to piece together the full sequence of events that led to the crash, and have not yet released any preliminary findings on fault or contributing factors.