AN ARARAT family has had a lucky escape after the four-wheel-drive they were travelling in careered out of control up an embankment on the Western Highway west of Ballarat.
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A male driver in his forties lost control of the silver Toyota Prado when the tandem trailer he was towing jack-knifed just before the Sunraysia Highway turn-off.
The four-wheel-drive then skidded off the road and collided with a tree before coming to rest up a bank.
Two of the occupants were trapped in the vehicle for about half an hour before they were extracted using the Jaws of Life. The driver, a 10-year-old boy, and two girls aged five and eight were taken to the Ballarat Base Hospital with what police described as minor injuries.
"There has been a loss of control of the vehicle with a trailer which jack-knifed then hit a tree," Sergeant Peter Anderson from Buninyong Police said. "Police are still investigating the cause.
"We've had a bad week on district roads. It is a reminder drivers need to be vigilant and careful while on the road."
The trailer had been carting a load of paving stones which were strewn alongside the Western Highway. The cabin of the four-wheel-drive was mangled by the impact while the trailer came to rest upside down in the middle of the road.
The crash was attended by at least half a dozen emergency services vehicles with paramedics, CFA and police units at the scene. Traffic had to be diverted away from the section of the highway to allow the debris to be cleared.
