THREE people have lost their lives in a crash last night involving a car and a semi-trailer on the Western Highway near Ballarat.The crash happened about 11pm on the highway 10km west of Beaufort at Box's Cutting, when a car is believed to have veered onto the wrong side of the road and into the path of a truck. Two other trucks then collided with the vehicles. The occupants of the car, from Adelaide, died at the scene. The driver was a 24-year-old man from Salisbury East. The other two occupants were a 48-year-old woman from Wynn Vale and a 19-year-old woman also from Wynn Vale. At the scene, debris including shoes and wreckage is scattered for metres down the road from the initial collision point.Little remains of the car, while the truck which collided with the car is situated at least 50 metres from the crash point after it jack-knifed.Beaufort Police Sergeant John Wallish was one of the first on scene last night and described it as one of "complete devastation''."It's one of the worst I've ever attended," he said."Traffic was banked up on both sides and we got the diversions in place pretty quickly.''Despite their ordeal, Sgt Wallish said the truck drivers appeared to be in good conditions.The driver the first truck is believed to be a South Australian man aged in his 40s. A second truck driver, Pat Koti, of Sneaths Transport in Melbourne, told The Courier he was on route to Nhill for a changeover when the accident occurred.He said the first truck passed him about a mile before the accident.He narrowly avoided colliding with the truck and car." I saw the car coming in the opposite way and the truck in front of me braked a couple of times, so I slowed down, before he braked and locked up and I did the same thing too,'' Mr Koti said."He jack-knifed across the road and took the whole car out; another truck behind me saw what happened and pulled out to swerve ... I didn't hit the truck but the guy behind me slammed into it."We got out to see if the first truck driver was alright before we looked at the car - there was no life in the car."Rural Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said paramedics were called to the scene at 11.10pm last night and were initially unsure of the number of casualties.He said an air ambulance was called to the scene before being cancelled and no one else was taken to hospital.Mr Koti, who has been driving trucks for 38 years, said he drove along the Western Hwy regularly."You try and avoid things like this, it's a pretty messy scene and the last place you want to be is parked up here,'' he said.Police have blocked the Western Highway at Windermere where traffic is being diverted to Avoca via the Sunraysia Hwy.From the western side, traffic is being diverted from Ararat to Avoca via the Pyrenees Hwy.Investigations are continuing and the Western Hwy is expected to be closed until at least 1pm. Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.