By JESSE GRAHAM
Childcare crash catastrophe missed by inches…
CATASTROPHE was narrowly avoided last week, when an elderly driver crashed into the side of a childcare room with babies inside, resting his car on top of a gas main.
About 11.45am on Wednesday 16 July, an 83-year-old Belgrave South man crashed into the side of Monbulk’s Cottage Child Care Centre on the corner of Monbulk Road and Menin Road, hitting two cars in the process.
The driver told police that his foot had slipped from the brake pedal onto the accelerator as he was waiting to turn out of Olinda-Monbulk Road.
As he came out towards the childcare centre, the driver hit a white car travelling towards Monbulk and a parked ute, before crashing through bollards and into the childcare centre.
The car drove through an entrance ramp and came to rest on a gas main on the side of the building, where four babies were sleeping at the time.
Monbulk police Sergeant, Mark Knight, praised the staff at the centre for their quick-thinking, evacuating the children from the buildings to the rear of the property.
Other staff members, meanwhile, tended to the man while emergency services crews rushed to the scene.
Sgt Knight said it was lucky that the man’s car – a Jeep Cherokee – did not rupture or damage the building’s gas main.
“It could have been an absolute catastrophe, with lives lost with those children, but all credit to the management and staff – they implemented their emergency evacuation management plan,” he said.
The building received significant structural damage from the crash, and owner John Tanish and his wife Karen have estimated the damage to be between $20,000 and $50,000.
The driver was taken by ambulance to the William Angliss hospital with a head injury for observation and assessment, but Mr Tanish said he had been in contact since to thank everyone for their help in the incident.
“It’s a happy ending out of a very stressful day and it’s a happy ending that no one was too injured,” he said.
He said that the crash had caused a great deal of panic, with the building shaking from the impact of the car, but that the staff and police had handled the situation well.
“Our police force up here is bloody brilliant – full compliments to Mark Knight and his crew,” he said.
A safety fence has been put up at the site of the crash, while new bollards or rails are being organised for the centre.
As for the centre, Mr Tanish said that life had resumed and that all was normal, with some slight changes.
“We’re back to standard operations today (Thursday 17 July), with the exception that the place isn’t very charming to look at,” he said.
The driver’s car and the white car it struck were towed from the scene with extensive damage, and Sgt Knight said both were expected to be written off.
The driver was charged with failing to give way, and will receive a fine of $295.
