A male pedestrian has been killed and a woman seriously injured after a car crashed into a medical centre in Melbourne's north-west. Police were called to the intersection of Keilor and Hoffmans roads in Niddrie about 9:20am today after a silver Alfa Romeo ploughed into Essendon Health Medical Centre.
CCTV from a nearby business appears to show the vehicle narrowly missing oncoming traffic and mounting the footpath as it crosses the intersection at speed. Detective Inspector Craig McEvoy from the Major Collision Investigation Unit said a man, who is yet to be identified, had died at the scene.
A woman in her early 50s from the Roxburgh Park area, who was seeing a doctor in one of the consulting suites, was also struck by the car, and airlifted to Royal Melbourne Hospital. She is in a stable condition. The driver, a 63-year-old man from Maribyrnong, was injured but not seriously; he has been interviewed and released pending further enquiries.
Police believe the car was travelling north on Hoffmans Road when it crashed into the medical centre. Inspector McEvoy said it was extremely lucky that the car, which came to rest 30 metres into the building, had not hit staff or other patients. A glass exterior wall of the centre caved in due to the crash.
Police will reconstruct the scene to determine the cause, considering all options including a medical event, mechanical failure, driver error, speed, fatigue, drugs, or alcohol. Firefighters removed the car from the scene about 3pm. Anyone who witnessed the collision or has CCTV or dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
