Man in charged after FIVE people and a dog killed in horror car crash
Gruesome details emerge of horror car smash that killed FIVE people and a dog - as Mercedes driver, 29, is released on bail but is banned from getting behind the wheel
- Strathmerton incident involves truck, cars
- Five people killed in crash on Thursday
By Tita Smith For Daily Mail Australia[1]
Published: 04:56, 21 April 2023 | Updated: 08:33, 21 April 2023
A Mercedes driver who allegedly killed five people and a dog after running a give way sign has been released on bail.
Christopher Dylan Joannides, 29, allegedly hit a Nissan Navara ute which sent it spinning into the path of a B-double truck near Strathmerton, just south of the Victoria-NSW border, about 2.30pm on Thursday.
Victoria Police had allegedly earlier clocked the white Mercedes sedan travelling 118km/h in a 100km/h zone.
Police will allege he then ran through a give-way sign at the Labuan Road and Murray Valley Hwy intersection moments before the smash.
The crash instantly killed the Nissan driver, a local woman in her 60s, her four international passengers - three women and a man all in their 20s - and a dog.
The crash was so bad disaster identification experts and search and rescue teams had to be called in to determine how many victims there were.
Five people were killed in a horror crash between two cars and a B-double truck in northern Victoria on Thursday
The Nissan Navara 4WD ute was thrown into the path of the truck after being struck by the Mercedes
Joannides faced the Shepparton Magistrates Court on Friday afternoon, charged with five counts of dangerous driving causing death.
Applying for bail, Joannides' lawyer said he had no other prior offences, was not an unacceptable risk to the community, had a stable residence and family support.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski granted him bail with strict conditions, including that he is banned from driving.
'Probably the worst thing you could do is ... to drive a motor vehicle,' the magistrate said.
'You're not to drive a motor vehicle under any circumstance.'
Joannides must reside at his Doncaster address, surrender his passport and cannot leave Victoria or Australia.
Following the crash, Joannides and his 20-year-old female passenger were taken to hospital for treatment for minor injuries.
While the circumstances of the crash are still under investigation, Assistant Commissioner of Road Policing Glenn Weir said police believe the four international victims are from Asia and were in Australia working in the local farming industry.
Emergency services were called to an incident in Strathmerton, just south of the NSW border, about 2.30pm on Thursday with reports of a multi-car collision (pictured, map)
The crash took place at the intersection of Murray Valley Hwy and Labuan Rd (pictured)
Police and emergency services are pictures at the scene of the crash on Thursday
At the time of the incident, the Navara driver was dropping her employees home after they spent the day working at her property, Assistant Commissioner Weir said.
Police from the major collision unit worked through the night to examine and investigate the cause of the crash.
Assistant Commissioner Weir said dash camera footage of the crash was 'horrific' and the tragedy would 'significantly impact' the first responders, local community, and victims' families overseas for a long time.
He said the truck driver was 'absolutely devastated' and was driving along and doing the right thing when his life 'changed in a split second'.
Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said there has been a significant rise in multiple-fatality car crashes this year on Victorian roads
The quintuple fatality is the most deadly car accident Victoria has experienced since 2012.
Assistant Commissioner Weir said there has been a significant rise in multiple-fatality crashes this year compared to 2022 on Victorian roads.
In an emotional plea, he urged drivers to heed road rules to stay safe especially as more people hit the road ahead of the weekend and Anzac Day.
'Today a lot of people will take the opportunity to travel and perhaps enjoy a day off on Monday and Tuesday as a public holiday.
But the people who won't travel are these people who are dead,' he said.
'So when the all the tape is taken down, all the cars are towed away, and everything is cleaned up and everyone will move on, it is quite easy for the crash to be something that happened the other week, the other month, or last year.
'But we can't let it stop at that.
It is time for people to wake up.
'I don't know what more we can do to try and appeal to people to take care.'
He will return to court on September 19.
References
- ^ Tita Smith For Daily Mail Australia (www.dailymail.co.uk)