Police are trying to piece together the events leading up to a single-car accident in which a Werribee man in his 40s died at the weekend.
Emergency services were called to the accident after passing motorists saw the twin-cab utility on the side of the Maltby Bypass, near Duncans Road, about 6.10am on Sunday.
Police believe the ute was travelling towards Melbourne when it veered off the road, went through a fence and struck an embankment.
The driver was found dead at the scene.
The man’s death took the Victorian road toll for the year to 228, slightly up on last year’s figure.
Meanwhile, a truck driver had a narrow escape when he jumped from his cabin just before the vehicle burst into flames at Werribee South on Saturday morning.
The man was travelling towards Melbourne and near roadworks for constructing a new overpass when the fire started about 4.30am. The Princes Freeway was temporarily closed off at Sneydes Road.
A spokesman for the Country Fire Authority said investigators believed the truck had hit a concrete barrier, rupturing a fuel tank of the B-double.
When fire trucks arrived, the B-double was burning and it took the crews of eight fire trucks 30 minutes to bring the fire under control.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the truck driver, 49, was assessed at the scene and was not injured.
Police said the driver was expected to be charged.
– with The Age
