UPDATE: Surf Coast mother Sarah Tonkin has been identified as the woman who died in the car crash at Balliang East on Friday afternoon.
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Ms Tonkin's baby boy Austin survived the crash, which has left a family reeling in the lead-up to Christmas.
According to The Age, police believe Ms Tonkin was hit and instantly killed by a tow bar that was flung up by a passing truck.
"She was a beautiful girl, just one of those people who walked into a room and lit it up," her father Richard Tonkin told the newspaper.
"If she happened to be on the road a minute before or a minute after, it wouldn't have happened.
"We have been crying for 24 hours since."
EARLIER: A woman has died and a baby has survived following a serious car crash this afternoon.
Emergency crews are still on the scene of the fatal crash in Balliang East, south of Bacchus Marsh.
It is believed the car driven by the woman left Geelong-Bacchus Marsh Road and struck a tree just after 2.15pm.
Police say the two occupants in the vehicle are yet to be formally identified.
The female driver has died at the scene.
A baby received minor injuries and is being taken to hospital.
The exact cause of the crash is yet to be determined.
The latest tragedy comes after another fatal crash in late October, which killed a man and a woman in two separate vehicles.
Anyone with information on today's crash is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Lives Lost:
2019: 254
2018: 201
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