Four teenagers hospitalised by a horror smash in Cranbourne may have been street racing.
A Holden Commodore and a Ford Falcon were travelling side by side in the south-bound lane of the South Gippsland Highway in Cranbourne about 11.30 on Thursday night, when the Ford clipped the other car.
Both cars mounted the median strip and crashed into a concrete pole, a police spokesman said.
Paramedics arrived to find both cars in flames, and worked for half an hour to free a woman from the Ford who had head injuries and burns to her arms, back and legs, an Ambulance Victoria spokesman said.
The 19-year-old Cranbourne woman was flown to The Alfred hospital, where she remains in a critical condition.
The driver of the Ford, an 18-year-old Lynbrook man, was taken to The Alfred with minor injuries.
The Commodore was driven by an 18-year-old Cranbourne man who was taken to the Dandenong Hospital with minor injuries, while a 19-year-old male passenger also from Cranbourne was taken to The Alfred with serious injuries.
Detective Acting Sergeant Ben Howie told radio 3AW it was lucky that no one was killed in the smash.
“It’s staggering that someone has survived, or anyone has survived this … You’ve essentially got one vehicle on top of the other,” he said.
Detective Howie said it was likely the cars were exceeding the 80km/h speed limit and that the four teenagers knew each other.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
