Two grandparents died and their 2-year-old grandson was “seriously” injured after a 91-year-old driver collided with pedestrians on a suburban sidewalk, according to police and several local news outlets.
According to a media release from Victoria Police, emergency workers responded to the scene on Coleman Road in Melbourne, Australia, after receiving a report that three people had been struck by a vehicle at approximately 12:20 p.m. local time on Thursday, July 10.
According to authorities, a 59-year-old woman died at the scene, and a 60-year-old man who was taken to a local hospital with “life-threatening injuries” later died. A two-year-old boy was taken to the hospital with “serious injuries,” according to the release.
A 91-year-old female driver received treatment for “minor injuries.”
According to authorities, the driver lost control of the vehicle before colliding with the pedestrians, after which she drove through a fence and came to rest on a park bench.
The investigation into the incident is still ongoing, but Victoria Police told PEOPLE that they have not yet interviewed the elderly driver.
According to the Daily Mail, the victims were a married couple with a toddler as their grandson.
A witness who heard the crash reported that after the collision, she came out of her house and saw the 60-year-old man lying on his back in her driveway.
“I noticed this gentleman fully clothed on his back, bleeding from his nose. “And very bad, heavy breathing,” she explained to News 7.
“And then later on, we discovered that the little baby had been thrown right over there,” the eyewitness explained, pointing to a patch of grass by the side of the road. “And he cried. One of the ladies nearby picked him up, and he just held onto her.”
In a press conference on July 10, Victoria Police Road Policing Command Superintendent Justin Goldsmith stated that the driver was “terribly shaken” by the incident and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
Goldsmith also stated that it is unclear whether the driver had a medical episode that contributed to the accident, according to 9 News.
