Man “driving like a madman” causes shocking crash on Melbourne bridge
Three men have been arrested for being in a vehicle with false plates after a horrific crash on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge left the driver hospitalised and another fighting for his life.
A silver Ford Falcon XR6 collided with a St Vincent’s charity truck on the bridge in Spotswood on Tuesday morning, with witnesses reporting the Ford was being driven “like a madman”, per Daily Mail Australia.
The truck rolled onto its side, forcing four lanes which connect the western suburbs and airport to the rest of the city to be closed.
It is understood a person was thrown from the vehicle in the collision.
The 21-year-old Ford driver was taken to hospital, where he is in a stable condition. The front-seat passenger was also taken to hospital with critical injuries.
Paramedics, firefighters and police descended on the scene, with all four outbound lanes closing. Image: 7News
Three other men, all in their 20s and passengers in the vehicle, were arrested at the scene, with police suspecting the car was stolen due to the presence of false registration plates, which belonged to a blue BMW with registration that expired in 2014.
The men have since been released pending further enquiries, while the two men in the van were unharmed.
VicTraffic confirmed that all four lanes were operational just after 2.30pm after authorities had cleared the road, though delays were expected to continue for some time.
“Thanks again for your patience as emergency services conducted investigations,' VicTraffic said.
One witness told Radio 3AW that the roads were entirely blocked, with police and ambulance unable to get through.
“There's a number of individuals lying there being attended to by the public, because the ambulance and the police just can't get through because the roads are entirely blocked,” they told the station.
Another, who was travelling outbound on the bridge, said the Ford sped past him “like a bullet”.
“He was driving like a mad man,” they said.
“I thought to myself he won't make it to the other side of the bridge.”
One woman who was at the scene moments after the crash told Daily Mail Australia that she saw paramedics treating one person who was on the ground.
“There were about fifty cars with police, ambulance and firefighters,” she said.
Police investigating the crash say the circumstances surrounding it are still to be determined, while anyone with information, dash cam footage or who witnessed the crash are being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Image: 7News