Hume Highway crash in Victoria: Four people killed near Chiltern

Four people have been killed after a horror crash on the Hume Highway in north-east Victoria.

A B-double truck and a car collided at the junction of Wenkes Rd in Chiltern, 36km south west of Albury near the NSW border, just before 10:30 am on Thursday. 

Tragically, all four individuals who were in the car, succumbed to injuries sustained during the accident and died at the scene.

The 30-year-old male truck driver was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. 

Emergency services are pictured at the scene of the crash at Chiltern on Thursday

Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives are on the way to the scene, with the cause of the crash yet to be determined.

Police believe the truck was heading north and the car was attempting to turn left from Wenkes Road onto the highway when the vehicles collided.

North bound traffic on the Hume Highway is closed from Springhurst Road. 

Ron Finemore Transport managing director Mark Parry has confirmed the truck belonged to the company and they were assisting with the investigation.  

‘It is a very sad day. “Our thoughts are with the people who were in the vehicle and their extended family, as well as the first responders,’ Mr Parry said.

 Mr Parry said the driver had undertaken mandatory alcohol and drug testing, but early indications suggest weather and visibility were not factors in the crash.

‘From what we’ve seen … the truck was not speeding, the driver had just come off a 12-hour break,’ he said.

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‘Early indications are the driver was doing everything right, but we won’t know until we see the vision. We will have vision from the truck eventually and we are assisting police.

A car and B-double truck collided at Chiltern, just south of the NSW border near Albury, around 10.30am

Chiltern, a small historic town three hours north of Melbourne, is home to around 1580 people. 

The town was built in the 1850s during the gold-rush era, but now counts agriculture, flour and cereal manufacturing among its main industries.

The crash is the latest in a string of mass fatality accidents on Victorian roads over the past four months.

In April, four people and a dog were killed when two cars and a B-double truck collided in Strathmerton – just 115km west of Chiltern. 

The following month, a mother and three teenagers were killed when the red Toyota Corolla they were travelling in veered off the road at Bochara, 320km west of Melbourne, and hit a tree. 

Police and emergency services are pictured at the scene, with detectives working to determine the cause of the crash

Addressing the media after the Strathmerton crash, Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said there had been a significant rise in multiple fatality crashes in Victoria this year compared to 2022. 

In an emotional plea, he called on drivers to take care on roads to save lives. 

‘When the all the tape is taken down, all the cars are towed away, and everything is cleaned up and everyone will move on, it is quite easy for the crash to be something that happened the other week, the other month, or last year,’ he said.

‘But we can’t let it stop at that. It is time for people to wake up.

‘I don’t know what more we can do to try and appeal to people to take care.’

Anyone who witnessed the incident, has dashcam or CCTV footage, or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.