Three killed in catastrophic truck crash in south-west Victoria

A three-year-old child and his parents have died in a catastrophic collision with a truck at a rural intersection in Victoria’s south-west.

Police said the family’s vehicle drove directly into the path of a B-double truck after failing to give way at a stop sign about 9.30am Tuesday.

Speaking at the scene, major collision investigation unit Detective Inspector Craig McEvoy said the car was T-boned by the truck, causing it to roll before eventually coming to rest on its side.

He confirmed a boy, 3, his 31-year-old mother and 41-year-old father, who had been driving, were killed in the crash.

“It’s a terrible scene … there are catastrophic injuries, and significant damage to the car which made extrication very difficult”.

“What we can establish is that there were three generations of family in a vehicle that was travelling in a westerly direction towards the intersection where a B-double truck was travelling in a southerly direction,” he said.

All passengers are understood to be from the Geelong region, with the truck driver local to the area.

A fourth woman, the boy’s grandmother, who was seated in the back seat of the vehicle was flown to The Alfred hospital with life-threatening injuries.

She is now in a stable condition and has spoken to investigators.

McEvoy said the truck driver, who has been co-operating with police, was shaken, but not believed to be at fault.

Police have cordoned off the scene of the crash, at the intersection of Eurambeen-Streatham and Mount William roads in the rural locality of Stoneleigh, west of Ballarat. Investigators are expected to remain there for hours to come.

McEvoy urged other drivers to take care when driving on rural roads, but said inattentive driving or distraction hadn’t been ruled out as a cause of the tragedy.

“There are stop sign precautions and warning signs before the intersection.” he said.

“It appears that the precautions haven’t been followed.”

A coronial brief will be prepared by investigators.

The deaths take Victoria’s road toll for 2025 to 251, up from 240 this time last year. Eighteen children have been killed this year, up by six at this time last year.