Horrific car crash at Daylesford pub kills six people
A horrific car crash in the regional Victorian town of Daylesford has claimed the lives of six people, including a six-year-old boy and teenage girl.
The driver, a 66-year-old Mount Macedon man, drove his car through Daylesford’s popular Royal Hotel beer garden just after 6pm on Sunday, hitting diners.
Seven people are currently in hospitals across Melbourne and Ballarat.
The driver is also in hospital and police are yet to speak with him.
Local Kimmi Moscicki said of the horror crash, "It didn't look real. You saw it but you didn't think about it because you're trying to help who you can help and then later on, like last night, I didn't sleep because I was thinking about it all."
Superintendent John Fitzpatrick said investigations were ongoing.
"There's a whole range of things that we need to do to try and establish what's occurred," he said.
"Later this morning we'll have a much better understanding of how this has occurred … the speeds and what really happened."
Police are seeking relevant CCTV and dashcam footage to help piece together the tragedy.
Local mayor Brian Hood spoke of the shock to the community.
"The sheer scale and size of this accident is just devastating," Councillor Hood said.
It is yet to be determined whether the victims were locals or vistitors.
"Council will be organising some information on our Facebook page and website where we can direct people to the right sort of agencies that help manage trauma, manage the outfall from an event like this," he said.
Superintendent Fitzpatrick called the scene confronting.
"I haven't seen something this drastic for a long time," he said.
"It's absolutely horrible. It's families that have loved ones that are no longer going to be around."
Emergency service workers including police and Ambulance Victoria staff will receive counselling and support where needed.
Ambulance Victoria regional director Trevor Weston said some of the responding crews were from the town.
"You never want to respond to any incident like this but certainly not in your home town," he said.
Jonathan Jackson, 6th November 2023
