Town’s tragedy – A Dandenong man narrowly escaped serious injury last week following a collisi

By Tania Martin
KALLISTA residents were last week left reeling after a local woman was killed following an early morning crash.
The accident happened about 6.30am last Tuesday (11 August).
Police believe the 60-year-old pedestrian, who lived on Monbulk Road, had just posted a letter and was attempting to cross the road when the accident happened.
Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Bentley said paramedics arrived shortly after but the woman died at the scene.
The accident happened near the town’s general store.
Kallista Cellars’ Peter Allen said he was just about to open the store.
“It was a big shock. She was a regular customer of five years and a lovely lady,” he said.
“She was a very private person.”
Kallista’s John Lloyd heard the smash early but didn’t realise someone had been killed.
He was half-asleep at the time and said he thought it sounded like a two-car collision.
“I heard a thump but didn’t know what it was,” Mr Lloyd said.
It wasn’t until later that morning that Mr Lloyd found out what happened.
“It made me sick to the stomach. I just hate to see something like this happen,” he said.
Mr Lloyd said he had never seen anything like it happen in Kallista before.
A report is now being prepared for the Coroner.
Police were also confronted with a near fatality the following day after a car collided with a school bus.
The accident happened shortly after 3.15pm on Belgrave-Gembrook Road.
Belgrave police Senior Sergeant Doug Berglund said a Commodore station wagon collided with the back of a stationary school bus with seven passengers.
The 40-year-old Dandenong man sustained head injuries and was taken to The Alfred hospital but no-one on the bus was injured. An ambulance spokeswoman said when paramedics arrived at the scene the man was in a very confused state and was sitting in the passenger seat of the car.
She said it took 25 minutes for the man to be cut out of the car before he could be taken to hospital.
The following day the man was in stable condition in The Alfred hospital.