Hepburn Shire Council has swung into support mode after a horror crash in the Victorian town of Daylesford last night which has left five dead – including two children – and seven injured.
Emergency services were called to the popular Daylesford pub – approximately 110km north west of Melbourne – following reports a BMW SUV had mounted the kerb at speed and struck a number of patrons in the garden bar area of the pub just after 6pm.
A six-year-old boy and a teenage girl are among the five people who were killed.
Another boy was flown to hospital with critical injuries, while a man, woman and boy were hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the BMW, a 66-year-old Mount Macedon man, was also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Hepburn Shire Mayor, Brian Hood spoke with media at the scene this morning, saying the devastating accident would hit the close-knit Daylesford community very hard.
“It’s of no surprise that people immediately jumped into action and tried to help as best they could with first aid and even just with blocking off roads, making the scene safe,” the Mayor said.
“I’m not surprised that that was the immediate reaction. It’s a wonderful community here.
“From a Council perspective, all we can do really is look after the mental health and wellbeing of people. We’ve already spoken to Vic Police about that and we’ll be providing some information on our Facebook page and website where people that are traumatised about this sort of event happening in their backyard can reach out for the right sort of help.”
He said the scene of the accident was a central meeting point for the community and would have been crowded ahead of tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup public holiday.
“This is a very popular spot in town. It was at dinner time and it’s very confronting to see the actual site itself and see debris across the road. And just to imagine the size and scale – so many people deceased and injured, it’s just incredible.
“We don’t normally experience these sorts of events where there’s death involved. We have been hit pretty hard with floods and storms and things like that, but this is on an entirely different scale. The sheer size and scale of this will be confronting for people.”
