By Melissa Cunningham & Simone Fox Koob
Two days after she died in the middle of a poorly lit road while trying to save the life of an injured motorcyclist, Emily Bartley's family have spoken of their grief over the loss of the loving wife and devoted mother.
Ms Bartley, 27, was rushing to the aid of a motorcyclist who had been struck by a car in Wantirna, in Melbourne's outer east, on Monday night when she was hit by another vehicle.
Emily Bartley's actions on the night she died have been described as 'heroic'.
Ms Bartley and the motorcyclist both died at the scene.
"We are truly devastated to have lost our beautiful Emily," her family said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Emily was a loving wife and devoted mother to her son aged five and daughter aged seven.
She was a genuinely caring person right down to her line of work where she cared for dementia patients. "
The family said they had been touched by the outpouring of messages and tributes and requested privacy to grieve.
Police believe the motorcyclist, a 37-year-old-man, was speeding when he hit an Audi at the intersection of Boronia Road and Amesbury
Acting Inspector Brad McArthur on Tuesday described the woman's actions as selfless and "heroic".
"She was trying to do the right thing, she saw somebody in need of help and she's gone out of her way to help but unfortunately it's led to her death," he said.
Acting Inspector Brad McArthur speaks to the media on Tuesday morning.Credit: Fairfax Media
"She's a hero as far as I'm concerned. We overuse words such as tragedy … but it really is, in this case, these words ring true. It's an absolute tragedy.
"She's got two young children and they've now got no mother. They've got a father who no longer has a partner ... the effects of this crash will impact a huge number of people for the rest of their lives.
"Her partner is devastated.Her family are really suffering, they're just trying to take it in."
At the scene of the crash on Tuesday afternoon, a visibly upset young couple stood in the median strip of Boronia Road and hugged as they taped a bouquet of flowers wrapped in yellow paper to a traffic pole metres from where she was killed.
Police returned to the scene of the crash in Wantirna on Tuesday morning.Credit: Justin McManus
A short time later, a young woman and her daughter placed a small bunch of pink flowers underneath a tree nearby.
Ms Bartley's car was found by police parked on the side of the road a short distance from the scene.
Investigators believe it may have been very difficult for the Honda driver to have seen her on the road before it was too late.
"I've been advised that visibility would have been an issue," Acting Inspector McArthur said.
"Not only due to the [poor] street lighting but the colour of the vehicles involved and clothing worn by the motorcycle rider and the lady involved and also the position of the vehicles that were involved in the crash, it may have obscured the vision of that other motorist.
"It was not a clearly apparent scene for any motorist approaching, so certainly sighting issues and lighting are matters we're looking into."
The Audi driver has told police that he stopped his car at the intersection, looked for other vehicles and saw the motorbike but decided it was far enough away for him to make a right-hand turn.
The motorcycle was travelling so fast along the 80km/h stretch of road that the rider was thrown from his bike and the Audi span out of control when the two vehicles collided.
“He [the Audi driver] tells us he saw a motorcycle approaching from some distance away and thought he’d have plenty of room to move across median strip, but as he started his manoeuvre, the motorcycle has come up on him so fast and it’s struck with such force it’s spun his car 180 degrees,” Acting Inspector McArthur said.
“As a result of that, it would have been a horrific scene, and there was a lady nearby that stopped and has made her way to the crash scene. It was at that point another vehicle travelling down Boronia Road has run over that woman and unfortunately she's died at the scene."
Acting Inspector McArthur said police did not foresee the drivers of either of the cars would be charged with any offences at this stage.
The crashes happened a few hundred metres away from where a newlywed couple was struck and killed in an alleged hit-run earlier this year.
Matt Goland and Bita Zaeim were killed when a stolen lexus smashed into their Holden Commodore at the intersection of Boronia and Stud roads in Wantirna South in the early hours of April 21.
The couple, from The Basin, had been married only a year.
Late last month the driver of the other car, 19-year-old Eric Victorsen, pleaded guilty to two charges of culpable driving causing death.