Woman fighting for life after late-night crash south-east of Melbourne

Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 2:10pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 2:10pmEmergency services at the scene of the crash at Catani. (ABC News)In short:A family of four has been taken to hospital after a late-night crash south-east of Melbourne.Emergency services were called to the scene at Catani just before midnight on Saturday after a car left the road and flipped in a drain.What's next?A woman in her 20s suffered life-threatening injuries while her mother sustained a serious head injury. Both were taken to the Alfred Hospital.A woman is fighting for her life after a car crash at Catani that police have described as a "horror story" for a local family.Major Collision Investigation Unit Detective Sergeant Mark Amos said the woman, aged in her 20s, was a rear passenger in the vehicle and suffered life-threatening injuries."The young girl in the back seat is in the fight of her life at the moment," he said."There is a family now that is living a horror story."Mark Amos says the family are local residents. (ABC News)Police believe the car was travelling north on Heads Road when it failed to stop at the intersection with Koo Wee Rup-Longwarry Road at Catani, south-west of Warragul, just before midnight on Saturday.The car crossed the intersection, left the road, travelled down an embankment and rolled into a drainage culvert.Four people were inside the car at the time.The woman's mother, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the Alfred Hospital, where her daughter was also taken.Police believe the car left the road just before midnight on Saturday before flipping onto its roof. (ABC News)The driver, believed to be the young woman's father, was taken to Frankston Hospital with minor injuries.Another daughter was also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.Detective Sergeant Amos said the family were local residents and investigators would examine whether factors including weather conditions and speed contributed to the crash."There were some fairly substantial fog patches around this area," he said.The four family members were taken to hospital. (ABC News)He urged drivers to take care on country roads, particularly in difficult conditions."It's a back country road, it's dark and you've just got be careful," he said.Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives are continuing their investigation.Anyone who witnessed the crash of has footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.