The tragedy of a high-speed crash causing four people’s lives has shocked the Victorian community.
Police have established an investigation on a single-vehicle crash at Bochara, 300 kilometres west of Melbourne.
The crash has killed one woman in her 30s and three teenagers from Baimbridge College, leaving one sole survivor, a 17-year-old girl fighting for her life in hospital.
Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The Victorian Briefing – keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:
It is believed that the driver of the sedan lost control of the vehicle on Wannon-Nigretta Road near the small community of Bochara and hit a tree.
Assistant Commissioner for Road Policing Glenn Weir said the car was “obviously travelling at extremely high speed”.
“It is a really traumatic and destructive scene there,” Mr Weir told reporters on Sunday.
“We’re just hoping that the 17-year-old passenger who’s currently in hospital in a life-threatening condition can pull through so we can get some more detail of what actually occurred.”
It is yet to identify the driver at the time or whether the occupants were wearing seatbelts.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said authorities would determine the cause of the crash soon.
“Please just take a little bit longer to get there, but getting there is the really important thing,” he said.
“We don’t want families going through what those families are going through right now.”
There have been 130 deaths on Victoria’s roads to date this year, compared to 96 this time last year.
Subscribe to The Briefing, Australia’s fastest-growing news podcast on Listnr today. The Briefing serves up the latest news headlines and a deep dive into a topic affecting you. All in under 20 minutes.