By Kirsty Ross
TWO people were incinerated in their car after an empty petrol tanker crashed into it on the Princes Freeway last Thursday night.
The horror pile-up happened about 7pm in Laverton, amid steady city-bound traffic.
Police said a Holden Zafira station wagon exploded after being hit by the tanker, before both vehicles burst into flames.
The truck had been carrying aviation fuel but was empty at the time of the crash and did not cause the explosion.
However, Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) Commander David Bruce said the fumes in the empty tank were considered more dangerous than a tank full of petrol because of their tendency to ignite.
“Unfortunately there wasn’t a lot the fire brigade could do,” he said.
Sergeant Darren Williams, of the police major collision investigation unit in Brunswick, said the disaster was triggered by an earlier accident.
He said a woman driving a Holden Barina in the second lane of the four-lane freeway stopped when her bonnet flew up and blocked her view of the road ahead.
While the woman called for help a man, acting as a “good Samaritan”, pulled over to help.
Sgt Williams said just as the two attempted to push the Barina into the left-hand emergency lane, a station wagon ran into the back of it.
The man and woman were not hurt but the force of the impact pushed the cars on to the right-hand side of the road.
The station wagon’s rear then protruded into the fourth lane.
Sgt Williams said the truck then smashed into the station wagon where the passengers were still sitting minutes later.
The 61-year-old truck driver walked away from his burning cabin unharmed, after unsuccessfully trying to get the fire extinguisher from his crushed cab.
He said the stretch of freeway, about 500 metres west of Forsyth Rd overpass, was dark and the station wagon’s lights were off.
Sgt Williams said it appeared the station wagon tried to avoid the first impact but hit side-on.
The two bodies had not been identified late last week, but were believed to be those of a mother and daughter from country Victoria.
The Princes Freeway was closed for more than six hours as a result of the incident.
The Victoria Police disaster victim identification unit tried to identify the bodies using dental records and DNA.
Commander Bruce said four vehicles with 14 firefighters, and two Country Fire Authority units attended the scene.
