UPDATE: The Monash Freeway is reopening in both directions.
Victoria Police is appealing for witnesses to the truck crash which closed the Monash Freeway in both directions on Wednesday.
Traffic remains heavy.
The freeway was closed following an accident where a truck lost its wheel on Wednesday morning, and is expected to remain closed until 2pm.
Other roads that were affected include Kings Way, City Road, Toorak Road, Malvern Road and High Street.
Waverly Road, Huntingdale Road, Svale Road and Batesford Road is also experiencing delays.
Victoria Police said the tyre of the first truck, a B-double, hit the windscreen of a second truck travelling inbound on the Monash causing the driver to lose control and crash into a concrete barrier.
The tyre then bounced back into outbound traffic and hit a number of vehicles.
The driver of the B-double pulled over at Huntingdale Road and is assisting police with inquires.
Two men were injured in the accident and have been taken to hospital.
Ambulance Victoria spokesman Shaun McComish said a man aged in his 50s was being taken to The Alfred hospital.
“He has a serious leg injury he’s in a serious condition,” he said. “He was trapped in the car for about an hour.”
Another man, aged in his 20s, was also taken to The Alfred hospital with a minor back injury. He was in a stable condition.
Police, ambulance crews and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade were on the scene. All inbound lanes were closed just before 9am.
Inbound traffic is being diverted along Warrigal Road with heavy delays in the area and outbound traffic is being diverted at Toorak Road.
Heavy vehicles have been asked to please use Kings Way and motorists are advised to avoid the area.
Traffic outbound was heavy back to Glenferrie Road.
A police spokeswoman confirmed emergency services were called onto the scene around 8.20am. Callers to 3AW’s Breakfast program reported seeing a truck lose its load and a tire hitting another vehicle on the freeway.
The left lane in the Burnley Tunnel is also shut due to congestion.
Ambulance Victoria said the Monash incident was just one of five collisions in the space of 12 minutes on Wednesday morning.
A cyclist in his 20s was also injured in a collision with a car on Inkerman Street in St Kilda and a woman in his 60s was treated for neck and chest injuries and taken to Maroondah Hospital in a stable condition after an incident on Maroondah Highway, Ringwood.
This story first appeared in The Age
