Teen dies, six injured in horror crash near Shepparton

A teenage girl has died after a horror crash on the same road where a five-year-old and an unborn baby were killed just months ago near Shepparton, sparking calls for urgent safety upgrades.

A teenager is critical and six others injured after a horror smash in Shepparton. Picture: David Geraghty

A three-car crash that hospitalised seven people on Friday evening happened on the same country road where a five-year-old and an unborn baby were killed just six months ago.

A 17-year-old girl, from Lemnos, suffered life-threatening injuries and remained in hospital over the weekend, but she later died.

Five other people were rushed to hospital after a Toyota Camry, a Toyota Orien and a Mazda wagon collided at the intersection of New Dookie and Boundary Rd in Pine Lodge about 6.20pm.

The Camry’s driver, a 30-year-old Kialla man, was treated for serious injuries.

The 17-year-old girl and a 32-year-old man, also from Lemnos, were passengers in the Camry.

An 18-year-old Tarneit woman was also travelling inside the Camry but she was not injured.

A 68-year-old Cosgrove woman was driving the Mazda and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, as did her 15-year-old passenger.

The driver of the Orien, a 66-year-old Dookie man, also sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigations into the crash are ongoing.

Chrystle Olivia Kemp is facing charges over the collision that killed 5-year-old Savannah Kemp.

Member for Shepparton Kim O’Keeffe said the road toll in regional Victoria was in “dire straights”.

“The staggering increase of road toll deaths that we are experiencing, it shows that it’s a crisis, and immediate things need to happen,” Ms O’Keeffe said.

“It’s the highest death toll in 15 years.”

The Nationals MP said she had been unsuccessful in campaigning for the reinstatement of funding for regional road safety.

“In the past two years a staggering $230m from road safety programs has been cut back … It’s a huge neglect,” she said.

“I’ve called on that funding to be reinstated.”

“I think there needs to be a review, a very big review, on regional roads and a really deep dive into improvement moving forward.”

The crash on Friday evening occurred on Boundary Rd, Pines Lodge.

In October last year, five-year-old Savannah Kemp died when the silver Toyota LandCruiser she was travelling in, driven by her aunt, collided with two other vehicles, also on Boundary Rd.

Savannah’s aunt Chrystle Kemp, 26, was charged with dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing serious injury and will next appear in court on June 11.

The crash also claimed the life of an unborn baby, whose mother, a 32-year-old pregnant woman, suffered serious injuries.

Earlier in 2023, about 5km from Friday’s crash, four men were killed when their car ploughed into another.

Deaths on Greater Shepparton roads more than doubled to 14 in 2023 compared with the year prior, with 40 total deaths in the Goulburn region, up 7 per cent.