Man critical after crash

By Tania Martin
A 23yearold Cockatoo man was airlifted to the Alfred Hospital yesterday (Tuesday) in a critical condition after his car rolled down an embankment on BeaconsfieldEmerald Road and hit a tree.
The man was trapped in his car for more than an hour while Emerald’s State Emergency Service (SES) worked to free him from the wreckage.
Leigh Johnston from Emerald SES said the road crash rescue team had to perform a complicated extraction which resulted in the roof and part of the front of the car being removed.
Mr Johnston said the volunteers also had to use a hydraulic ram to roll the dashboard off the man.
Senior Constable Gemma Hamilton, from Pakenham Traffic Management Unit, said the man was the only occupant in the vehicle and was travelling west along BeaconsfieldEmerald Road when the accident happened.
She said the man lost control of his car, which veered off the road and rolled down an embankment and hit a tree just before 7.40am.
Emerald CFA Captain Paul Yandle said two fire trucks from Emerald and one from Clematis attended and helped to provide firstaid assistance before the ambulance arrived.
Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokesman Phil Cullen said several ambulance units, plus a couple of MICA (intensive care paramedic) crews and an airambulance were called to the scene.
He said the Emerald CFA also closed the road to enable the helicopter to land nearby.
Mr Cullen said the man suffered multiple arm and leg fractures as well as chest injuries and was airlifted to the Alfred Hospital in a critical condition.
Police are continuing their investigations into the cause of the accident.