A driver who plowed into families in a busy beer garden, killing five people, slumped behind the wheel as his ‘eyes glazed over’ and appeared to be experiencing a medical episode when the crash occurred.
Police said the driver, aged 66 and from Mount Macedon, has no criminal record apart from a few speeding offences.
The tragedy claimed the lives of two men in their 30s, a woman in her 40s, a teenage girl and a six-year-old boy. took place in front of the historic Royal Hotel in Daylesfordnorthwest of MelbourneSunday at 6:05 PM.
Witnesses say the white BMW
The hotel was busy with guests for the unofficial long weekend before the Melbourne Cup bank holiday on Tuesday, with families gathering near an ice cream parlor on the lawn.
The BMW then turned towards the road, collided with a lamppost and eventually came to a stop at a roundabout a few meters away from the hotel, on Howe Street.
Two men aged 43 and 38, a 35-year-old woman and an 11-month-old boy were injured in the crash and are said to be in stable conditions.
Pictured: An image showing how the car crash in Daylesford unfolded on Sunday
The white BMW X5 (pictured) plowed into visitors sitting in the courtyard of the historic Royal Hotel in Daylesford
Witnesses said the badly damaged BMW remained at the scene when emergency services arrived
The driver had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time and has a full and unrestricted driver’s license.
A woman told Ny Breaking Australia the driver appeared to have suffered a medical episode behind the wheel.
“It’s not like he was drugged, he had a seizure,” she explained, suggesting it could be diabetes.
The witness said: ‘It was just an explosion. Bodies were everywhere.”
Other witnesses said the driver appeared to struggle in his car moments before pressing the accelerator and driving down a steep hill into the beer garden.
Victoria Police say they are still investigating the exact cause of the crash.
The man was later seen being put on a drip and was among the last to be taken to hospital.
“I just saw a family on the ground and I wanted to kill him,” the woman said. ‘I think he wiped out an entire family. I saw the little boy and it just broke my heart.”
Forensic teams remain on scene as a fallen electricity pylon continues to block traffic (pictured)
The out-of-control white BMW
On Monday, a police officer was able to remove a stroller from the scene (photo)
On Monday, police said the victims belonged to two families who knew each other and were not locals but visitors “just going about their daily lives… on a beautiful sunny afternoon.”
Paramedics flew four patients to Melbourne for treatment, including one child.
The child was flown to the Royal Children’s Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Two adults were flown to Royal Melbourne Hospital and one adult was flown to Alfred Hospital, all with serious injuries.
Paramedics also took two patients to Ballarat and one patient to Royal Melbourne in serious but stable conditions.
Victoria Police confirmed the crash on social media on Sunday evening.
“Emergency services are currently at the scene of a fatal crash in Daylesford,” a police statement said.
The pub at the historic Royal Hotel in Daylesford will remain closed until Thursday.
Community members gathered on Monday to pay tribute to the five people killed in Daylesford on Sunday (pictured)