An 82-year-old woman with a heart condition has been left devastated and robbed of her independence after her car was allegedly deliberately destroyed on Sunday morning.
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The woman's daughter, Maggie Kerseboom, said she was woken by dogs barking about 4.55am before she heard an explosion outside the Redan house she was staying at.
Ms Kerseboom ran out to try and move the car, thinking there was a fire underneath, but it was too late.
"I'm just so disappointed in Ballarat," she told The Courier.
Ms Kerseboom and her mother live in Kyneton. She had borrowed the car for the night to babysit.
"I'm crushed - without the car, she loses her independence."
Details of her medication dosages and her favourite walking stick were among possessions lost in the suspicious blaze, which police confirmed was under investigation. Ms Kerseboom described her mother as a "social butterfly", and she and her friends would regularly drive each other to outings.
"They help each other out with driving," she said.
"She just got a council permit for it, and her favourite walking stick was in the back - it's those little things that count."
Witnesses with information are urged to phone Ballarat police on 5336 6000 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
READ MORE: CAR SET ON FIRE AT BALLARAT CEMETERY
The car fire was one of several incidents that kept emergency services busy across the long weekend.
About 1.20am on Sunday, fire crews were called to a house fire in Nerrina.
It's believed no one was home at the time, and no one was injured.
Fire investigators were on the scene on Sunday morning.
The top floor of the two-storey house was extensively damaged, although the cause is not believed to be suspicious.
A woman in her 20s was taken to hospital with arm, chest, and leg injuries after a car accident on Creswick Road near Macarthur Street, according to Ambulance Victoria, while about 2am, a driver in Wendouree allegedly lost control of his car on Grevillea Street, hitting a sign. No one was injured.
On the Smythesdale-Sebastopol Road in Ross Creek, a man in his 20s was taken to hospital in a stable condition after allegedly rolling his car about 6.15am.
As part of the state-wide Operation Regal, police also intercepted a 58-year-old man driving in Wendouree on Saturday, with a blood alcohol reading of 0.153.
A Miners Rest man was also nabbed by police twice in two days for allegedly drug-driving.
The connection between drinking, driving, and having an accident is well-established, and people need to really consider what they're doing when they're getting behind the wheel, especially...going home from the long weekend
- Ballarat Highway Patrol's Acting Senior Sergeant Bob Anderson
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