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Post by Cullyn Of Cerrmor on Jan 8, 2009 13:27:49 GMT 9.5
Injured girls' dad thanks crash carers
January 8, 2009 - 12:16PM
The father of three girls injured when a car ploughed into a group of pedestrians in a Victorian coastal town has praised emergency workers and volunteers who assisted at the scene.
Lawrence Di Stefano said his three young daughters, Danielle, Mikayla and Leoni, were expected to fully recover from Tuesday's horrific crash in which 13 people were injured.
"The Di Stefano family would like to sincerely thank everyone who helped and cared for those injured at the accident scene at Lorne on Tuesday," he said in a statement.
Di Stefano, from Moonee Ponds in Melbourne's west, thanked volunteers and police, the Country Fire Authority, State Emergency Service staff, ambulance officers and hospital workers.
"We cannot thank them enough," he said.
In the accident, a Holden station wagon swerved on a bend in the main beachside street at Lorne during the peak tourist season, hitting two families before coming to rest on top of two parked cars.
Eight-year-old Danielle Di Stefano escaped with minor injuries, while her three-year-old sister Mikayla suffered a fractured leg and Leoni, aged six, a fractured pelvis.
Mikayla and Leoni were flown to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital.
A 45-year-old woman was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and others were taken to Lorne Community Hospital.
Police ruled out alcohol for the crash, and said indications were that the 62-year-old driver of the station wagon was not speeding or tired.
© 2009 AAP
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Post by Cullyn Of Cerrmor on Jan 8, 2009 13:29:25 GMT 9.5
Thirteen injured as car ploughs into pedestrians
Adrian Lowe | January 6, 2009
Two four-year-old girls were among 13 people injured when a car ploughed into a group of pedestrians in coastal Lorne yesterday.
Police late last night said eight people were still in hospital, with five treated at Lorne Hospital and later released.
The two girls, believed to be sisters, were walking near a car park on Mountjoy Parade with at least six other people at about 4pm, when a car driven by a 62-year-old NSW man veered on to the footpath.
The car then rolled down an embankment, before crashing on top of two parked cars.
The four-year-olds were flown by air ambulance to the Royal Children's Hospital. One sustained a fractured leg, while the other suffered spinal injuries and was last night in a critical condition.
A woman, 45, also suffered a fractured leg in the accident. Last night she was in a stable condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital. A third child was taken to Geelong hospital with a possible fractured ankle.
Another child, an adult pedestrian and the driver and his two passengers suffered minor injuries. Those five were treated at Lorne Hospital last night and released.
It is believed the 62-year-old was driving at a low speed when the accident occurred in the town centre of Lorne, on the south-west coast. Mountjoy Parade is part of the Great Ocean Road.
Police said they did not believe alcohol or speed had contributed to the accident and the driver had been released pending further investigations.
Photographer Darren Apps, who witnessed the aftermath of the smash, said it appeared the car had failed to take a corner before hitting the pedestrians, who were believed to be from two families.
Staff of businesses close to the scene were reluctant to talk in detail about the accident but one man described the situation as "nasty".
Darren, a cafe worker, told Channel Nine: "A car has run off the road, across a nature strip and into a car park at a resort, and in doing so has taken a few pedestrians with him."
Police were last night continuing their investigations and will conduct further inquiries today.
With Mex Cooper
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