By Jackson Russell
Tooborac CFA captain David Anderson has called for urgent upgrades a dangerous intersection after a recent fatal accident on the Northern Highway.
Three cars, one towing a horse float, collided at the intersection of the Northern Highway and Majors Line Road on January 21, resulting the death of a 58-year-old Tooborac man more than two weeks later.
Four other people, a 41-year-old Seymour man, a 54-year-old Tooborac woman, a 12-year-old Tooborac girl and a 46-year-old Heathcote man were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Mr Anderson said the road was one of the busiest in the area.
“There’s no turning lane there where people can go around cars and pass,” he said.
“Over the past 10 or 15 years, there have been multiple accidents and some people really seriously hurt.
“At the last accident, we had a fatality and it was a local person. It shouldn’t happen. There are a lot of families that live on Majors Line Road and a lot of children that go to school.”
Mr Anderson said the intersection was a tragedy waiting to happen.
“You can see the writing on the wall, it’s only a matter of time before a family gets killed, it’s as simple as that,” he said.
Regional Roads Victoria northern regional director Brian Westley said they worked with Victoria Police to investigate the accident.
“The death of anyone on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends,” he said.
“As part of investigations following every serious crash on our roads we work with Victoria Police to determine if any improvements need to be made.”
In the past 10 years, one crash had been recorded at the Northern Highway and Majors Line Road intersection prior to the recent fatality, according to Regional Roads Victoria figures.
The Northern Highway is managed by Regional Roads Victoria and Majors Line Road by Mitchell Shire Council.
Member for Euroa Steph Ryan raised concerns about the intersection with Roads Minister Jaala Pulford last year and again after last month’s fatality.
“I previously raised the safety of this intersection with the Minister last, asking her to investigate its safety and urging VicRoads to attend to fallen timber on the roadside of Majors Line Road,” she said.
“The Minister advised that Regional Roads Victoria conducted an assessment of the investigation and found that it met the recommended standards.”
