While police investigate the cause of the runaway Stag B-double tipper in Buninyong, Victoria, on Friday, eye-witness Caitlin Cooper says the truckie deserves to be praised for his split-second actions as the dramatic incident unfolded.
The home care worker, 28 weeks pregnant with her fourth baby, had just got a late lunch at the bakery near the home of a client.
As she was about to start pulling out of the FoodWorks driveway, she told Big Rigs she noticed a silver B-double approaching.
“All of a sudden as I was about to pull out in front of him I heard his horn blasting as he approached the roundabout and thought to myself, ‘Why is he honking? I better wait and see.’
“So I didn’t move. I waited, then I noticed he wasn’t slowing down and it all happened so fast.
“I watched the B-double hit a little blue car on the wrong side of the roundabout, then a tree and it just exploded into pieces, then a huge rumble and it had come to a stop.”
Cooper said she sat for a minute in shock as she watched people run in from all angles to assist.
Victoria Police later released a statement that the truck, which had been travelling westbound along Midland Highway, collided with a car near the intersection of Warrenheip Road around 2.40pm.
The truck continued along the road and crashed into a tree and two stationary vehicles in a worksite, before coming to a rest on a nature strip.
The truck driver, who was not seriously injured, stopped at the scene and was assisting police with their enquiries.
The female driver and sole occupant of the car was taken to hospital with what are believed to be minor injuries.
Nobody else was injured in the incident.
“If you ask me he has done an amazing job to do his best in a situation that obviously he had no control over,” said Cooper.
“He hit one car, instead if he had of kept to his path he would have hit multiple cars and pedestrians.
“He thought smart and quick to act and take the safest option, even if it meant crashing into a tree and shipping container.
“He saved lives of so many, including my pregnant self. If he had of hit me he would have seriously injured, or possibly killed me and my unborn baby. This man in my eyes is extraordinary to do what he has done in such a bad situation.”
Anyone with information, CCTV, or dash cam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
Ballarat Police Sergeant David Whitwell told ABC News it appeared the truck’s brakes had failed on the approach to the intersection.
“At the moment we have got witness accounts of the driver travelling west on the Midland Highway. That driver appeared to be warning traffic using his horn that he was having difficulty braking,” Sergeant Whitwell said.
“It looks as though the driver has swapped to the incorrect side of the Midland Highway to avoid cars that were banked up to that roundabout. When you look at the size of the vehicle he was driving, and the weight behind that, it is incredible no-one was killed or seriously injured.”
Anyone with information, CCTV, or dash cam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.