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Children die, others critical in car lake plunge at Wyndham Vale
*APRIL 08, 2015*7:03PM
POLICE have confirmed a third child has died after their car plunged into a lake at Wyndham Vale this afternoon.
The car was found in the lake off Manor Lakes Boulevard, near Pedder Street, at 3.40pm.
The female driver is under police guard in Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Police believe all four children were under six years of age.
The car is about 20 to 30 metres from the shore.
An emotional Superintendent Stuart Bateson said “we don’t know why, we don’t know how” the car entered lake, about 38km west of Melbourne’s CBD.
He said it was “too early” to tell whether the female driver was the mother of all four children.
“All we know at this stage is a female driver has been taken to hospital and we have two deceased children,” he said.
ANYONE WHO WITNESSED THE CRASH IS URGED TO CONTACT CRIME STOPPERS ON 1800 333 000
“We have another two children that have been flown to hospital in a serious condition.
“What we do know is that when the car left (the road) passers by and police members got some of the children out and did CPR.
“Unfortunately two of the children passed away.”
Lake tragedy
Detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit are at the scene.
They will try to piece together the exact cause of the crash, determining how fast the car was travelling, whether the car braked or swerved and other factors like road conditions.
The Search and Rescue squad is also attending the scene and will retrieve the vehicle from the water.
Tests can then be conducted on the car to make sure there are no mechanical faults or defects.
Superintendent Bateson said police were unsure whether the car was driving erratically before entering the lake.
Authorities at the scene. Picture: Jake Nowakowski*Source:*News Corp Australia
“It is pretty early in our investigation,” he said.
“What we do know is that we have a very tragic set of circumstances here and it is going to be a very harrowing investigation.”
He said “everyone”, including police, had been affected by the tragic scene.
“When you come to a scene like this and my members in particular, who have been performing CPR for an extended period of time, are really feeling it,” he said.
“It is tough for everyone involved.”
The Superintendent said nearby SES and CFA members helped at the scene, as community members jumped into the lake in an attempt to rescue the children.
Resident Michelle told 3AW her neighbour Travis had to smash the car’s back windscreen to rescue the children.
“It’s just a horrible scene.” she said.
“Travis jumped into the water, smashed the back screen of the car and got one little boy out,” she said.
“Then they started working on him.”
Crying, she added: “It’s so very hard to talk about when there are children involved.”
Michelle said the car was travelling along Manor Lakes Boulevard and “but just went straight over into the lake.”
She said: “I’m not sure if it was speeding or what happened.”
Resident Kate Slee, who lives opposite where the crash occurred, said the park was normally a “pretty place” popular among families.
“I am devastated because I’ve got two kids of my own,’’ she said.
Stacie Buckley, also nearby, said: “It’s terrible. It’s a complete shock knowing it’s so close to home. I’ve got kids myself so anything involving kids is just awful.”
“You would never think something like this would happen in that particular spot. The ponds are retty far back from the road. It’s just completely shocking.”
Anyone who witnessed the crash is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report atwww.crimestoppersvic.com.au
http://mobile.news.com.au/national/...-at-wyndham-vale/story-fnii5sms-1227295916104
This is just so sad and tragic. Being the parent of 2 young children myself this really pulls at my heart strings. Children are so innocent and for this to happen....
*APRIL 08, 2015*7:03PM
POLICE have confirmed a third child has died after their car plunged into a lake at Wyndham Vale this afternoon.
The car was found in the lake off Manor Lakes Boulevard, near Pedder Street, at 3.40pm.
The female driver is under police guard in Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Police believe all four children were under six years of age.
The car is about 20 to 30 metres from the shore.
An emotional Superintendent Stuart Bateson said “we don’t know why, we don’t know how” the car entered lake, about 38km west of Melbourne’s CBD.
He said it was “too early” to tell whether the female driver was the mother of all four children.
“All we know at this stage is a female driver has been taken to hospital and we have two deceased children,” he said.
ANYONE WHO WITNESSED THE CRASH IS URGED TO CONTACT CRIME STOPPERS ON 1800 333 000
“We have another two children that have been flown to hospital in a serious condition.
“What we do know is that when the car left (the road) passers by and police members got some of the children out and did CPR.
“Unfortunately two of the children passed away.”
Lake tragedy
Detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit are at the scene.
They will try to piece together the exact cause of the crash, determining how fast the car was travelling, whether the car braked or swerved and other factors like road conditions.
The Search and Rescue squad is also attending the scene and will retrieve the vehicle from the water.
Tests can then be conducted on the car to make sure there are no mechanical faults or defects.
Superintendent Bateson said police were unsure whether the car was driving erratically before entering the lake.
Authorities at the scene. Picture: Jake Nowakowski*Source:*News Corp Australia
“It is pretty early in our investigation,” he said.
“What we do know is that we have a very tragic set of circumstances here and it is going to be a very harrowing investigation.”
He said “everyone”, including police, had been affected by the tragic scene.
“When you come to a scene like this and my members in particular, who have been performing CPR for an extended period of time, are really feeling it,” he said.
“It is tough for everyone involved.”
The Superintendent said nearby SES and CFA members helped at the scene, as community members jumped into the lake in an attempt to rescue the children.
Resident Michelle told 3AW her neighbour Travis had to smash the car’s back windscreen to rescue the children.
“It’s just a horrible scene.” she said.
“Travis jumped into the water, smashed the back screen of the car and got one little boy out,” she said.
“Then they started working on him.”
Crying, she added: “It’s so very hard to talk about when there are children involved.”
Michelle said the car was travelling along Manor Lakes Boulevard and “but just went straight over into the lake.”
She said: “I’m not sure if it was speeding or what happened.”
Resident Kate Slee, who lives opposite where the crash occurred, said the park was normally a “pretty place” popular among families.
“I am devastated because I’ve got two kids of my own,’’ she said.
Stacie Buckley, also nearby, said: “It’s terrible. It’s a complete shock knowing it’s so close to home. I’ve got kids myself so anything involving kids is just awful.”
“You would never think something like this would happen in that particular spot. The ponds are retty far back from the road. It’s just completely shocking.”
Anyone who witnessed the crash is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report atwww.crimestoppersvic.com.au
http://mobile.news.com.au/national/...-at-wyndham-vale/story-fnii5sms-1227295916104
This is just so sad and tragic. Being the parent of 2 young children myself this really pulls at my heart strings. Children are so innocent and for this to happen....
