Charges after early morning ute crash

By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS

A 30-YEAR-OLD Berwick man has been charged over a serious crash in an allegedly stolen ute on Eastlink early Monday morning.
Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives charged the man with negligently causing serious injury over a collision with another car at Dandenong North about 12.30am.
A 69-year-old Keysborough woman, who was in a grey Mazda, was critically injured in the smash.
She remained in a critical but stable condition at The Alfred.
The Mazda driver, a 71-year-old man, was taken to Dandenong Hospital with minor injuries.
The driver of the stolen ute also allegedly stole a white Toyota Hi Ace van at the crash scene as its driver stopped to assist the Mazda’s occupants.
Police say the blue Falcon ute had been reported stolen from a Bayswater North address just before midnight.
It’s alleged that the ute was seen driving in an erratic manner on Dorset Road and at a fast food outlet on EastLink shortly before the crash.
The stolen ute was abandoned on the tollway’s centre median strip at the crash scene.
The man was arrested in Willow Drive, Hampton Park and faced an out-of-sessions court hearing on Tuesday night.