Police describe ‘confronting scenes at Daylesford beer garden crash that killed 5
Two families visiting Daylesford have been revealed as the victims of a crash that killed five people, including a six-year-old boy and teenage girl, when a BMW SUV crashed into the popular regional Victoria pub.
Two families who were together in a beer garden have been revealed as the victims of the Daylesford car tragedy that claimed five lives, and injured seven people including an 11-month-old baby.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the scene of the incident was “one of the most confronting scenes”.
“It is believed all of those killed aren’t locals, but visitors just going about their everyday life just enjoying themselves on a beautiful Sunday afternoon,” he said in a press conference on Monday.
“Because notifications have not been made … in terms of determining identity, what I can say is there were in essence two groups, two different family groups that were known to each other who were significantly impacted by this.”
Two men in their 30s, a woman in her 40s, and a six-year-old boy died at the scene after the accident, which happened at 6pm in the town, which is about 100km northwest of Melbourne.
The teenage girl died in hospital at about 9.40pm Sunday night.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the 66-year-old driver would be interviewed by the Major Collision Investigation Unit on Monday afternoon.
The man had no alcohol in his system and will be getting blood tests done for analysis.
“All lines of inquiry are open to us on this occasion, including whether a medical episode has been involved,” he said.
“We will explore every avenue, we don’t have any particular view at this time … I will say the driver is not a person who’s known to us through national security interests.”
Investigation ‘in its infancy’
The driver does not have prior convictions but has received speeding tickets in the past.
Detectives are working on a reconstruction of the incident which will help determine whether the speed was a factor in the crash.
“Obviously there has been significant contact from a vehicle that has caused a lot of trauma, deaths and damage,” Mr Patton said.
“The investigation is in its infancy. It is an absolute tragedy what has occurred here.”
Mr Patton revealed details of those hospitalised and confirmed a 38-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman are stable at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
A 35-year-old woman also at the Royal Melbourne is in the ICU in a serious condition.
A six-year-old boy whose condition improved from critical to stable is at the Royal Children’s Hospital and an 11-month-old baby boy is at the Ballarat Base Hospital in a stable condition.
The chief commissioner spoke of the toll on the community and emergency service workers who attended the scene.
“It would be remiss of me not to speak of the toll this type of event can take on people. There were numerous people there, community members, visitors,” Mr Patton said.
“They attend these scenes regularly. But to go to an incident like this, that’s so confronting, so chaotic and so distressing, you can’t train someone for that.”
Victoria Police are awaiting DNA to confirm the identification of the deceased.
They urged witnesses and those with dashcam or CCTV footage to contact Crime Stoppers.
Scenes of carnage
As dawn broke in the traumatised central Victorian tourism town of Daylesford, a crumpled light pole lay across the roundabout that was crushed by an out of control BMW.
Just metres further on, an orange screen has been erected at the Royal Hotel.
Police would not estimate how fast the driver was going when he lost control of the car, but it was fast enough to shear the metal pole from its base.
The Sunday before the Melbourne Cup is always special in Victoria. Many take the Monday off and head to tourist towns like Daylesford with family and friends to enjoy a four-day weekend.
Locals described the white SUV taking off like a “rocket” as it flew through the roundabout and into the crowded beer garden.
Twelve hours after the carnage, empty beer glasses remained at a table near the scene. Workers in blue hazmat suits were clearing area.
Ambulance Victoria commander Trevor Watson on Monday morning described the scene as “very confronting” and “chaotic” in the moments after the BMW struck the victims, shortly after 6pm Sunday.
Five ambulance crews and four ambulance choppers raced to the scene of carnage, to treat the multiple injured.
Commander Weston said fellow drinkers from the pub had provided emergency medical care.
Kitty Martin, from the nearby Pizzeria La Luna, said she saw a damaged car and heard a loud bang shortly after 6pm.
“There was some kind of collision in the roundabout, I don’t know how many cars were involved,” she said.
Ms Martin said the damaged car looked “as if it had hit something”.
Cearoha, another worker at the pizza shop, said there were a lot of people out on the street on Sunday night.
“It’s obviously concerning, what happened is horrific,” she told The Australian.
Robin from Red Ginger Thai, also located close by to the hotel, said she saw a lot of flashing lights and emergency services.
“I didn’t witness the actual accident, but I saw a lot of the emergency crews.”
“There’s a lot of them here.”
Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen told The Australian that four of the people injured, including one child, were flown to hospitals in Melbourne.
Hepburn Shire Mayor Brian Hood said the community would be “shattered” over the tragedy.
“It’s a terrible accident. The community will certainly need support. We’re a close knit community and people will be shattered by this,” he told The Australian.
“For some this is a long weekend. With pleasant weather, people are outdoors enjoying a meal. It just underlines how quick things can change.
“I’ve certainly been at the (Royal Daylesford Hotel). It’s right in the middle of town, it’s a popular spot. This is just terrible.”
My thoughts are with all those at the scene, their friends and families and the broader Daylesford community.
— Catherine King MP (@CatherineKingMP) November 5, 2023
Please follow all the advice from emergency services as crews undertake their work. https://t.co/zmyaM2iFEE
Mr Hood said he was not aware of any issues with the roundabout on the street.
“I’ve not known it to be a dangerous intersection. It’s certainly busy and right in the middle of town but vehicles approach at a pretty slow speed,” he said.
“I can only assume something very unusual has happened.”
Federal MP for Ballarat Catherine King took to social media and urged the public to follow advice from emergency services.
“My thoughts are with all those at the scene, their friends and families and the broader Daylesford community,” she wrote.
Jenna Accquarola placed some flowers at the beer garden on Monday. The previous night, just an hour before the tragedy, she had been drinking in the same beer garden. But in a sliding doors moment, she and her boyfriend had decided to head back to their holiday accommodation to get ready for dinner.
“Just before the accident we were sitting there,” she said.
“This is so sad for Daylesford, so sad for the families. It had been a beautiful night, the sun was going down, and everyone was enjoying the night, and then it was instantly just destroyed.”
The Melbourne woman arrived back at the beer garden about five minutes after the accident, to see that it had been transformed into a hellish scene of dead and injured.
“We saw it, and it was horrible,” she said, describing how there were “white sheets all over the road”.
Beer garden a popular tourist spot
Daylesford is one of those “tree change” Aussie towns where Melburnians flock to for weekend getaways and spa treatments. It has a booming Airbnb economy and the main street is lined with restaurants, cafes, wellness outlets, art galleries and bars.
The Royal has been serving locals and holiday makers since 1916, opposite the pub is the town’s cenotaph to locals who lost their lives in war.
People come to Daylesford to love, laugh and live with family and friends. It’s this peaceful history that makes the death and mayhem of Sunday night all the more painful.
Many locals and those who frequent the popular Victorian town took to social media to share their shock and sadness.
“I stay here when I’m in Daylesford … The beer garden here is so busy on the weekend. my heart breaks such a great pub & I love Daylesford Hotel,” one person wrote.
“Just devastating … poor people enjoying a Sunday sip in the sunshine. Heart goes out to the victims and families,” another posted.
The Royal Daylesford Hotel was built in 1856 and is one of the oldest hotels in the area.
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