mmg.com.au

A Tatura woman died yesterday afternoon when the sedan she was driving collided head-on with a truck near Lancaster.

The woman, 56, and her male passenger, believed to be in his 20s, were driving west when the crash occurred on Lancaster-Mooroopna Rd, near Mulcahy Rd, about 4pm.

Shepparton Highway Patrol Sergeant Jeffrey Kyne said while investigations into the circumstances of the crash were continuing, it appeared the car was on the wrong side of the road when it collided with the truck head-on.

He said the force of the crash spun the car at least 180°, leaving the woman trapped inside.

Sgt Kyne said there were skid marks on the road left by the truck, which ran into a nearby paddock. The driver was uninjured.

The driver of a second truck heading west phoned 000 and helped the passenger of the sedan, who was able to leave the car.

He was taken to Goulburn Valley’s public hospital for treatment.

Sgt Kyne said the speed the vehicles were travelling meant the crash was inevitably serious.

He said the passenger was lucky the truck was empty at the time of the crash.

‘‘We’re out on a 100km/h road ... if they’re both travelling at the speed limit and they collide from opposite directions, it’s going to be a big hit and our bodies are going to be subject to a lot of trauma, with or without airbags,’’ he said.

‘‘Anyone that can get out of a vehicle after a crash of this magnitude is very lucky.’’

Sgt Kyne said Lancaster-Mooroopna Rd was a major thoroughfare connecting Shepparton and Kyabram.

‘‘This time of day it’s everyone’s main route between work, it’s quite a busy patch of road,’’ he said.

Two serious crashes on the same stretch of road last year left one person dead, while a truck ended up in a table drain west of yesterday’s fatality.