Herald Sun: Cyclists fight for lives (24 December, 2008)

Two brothers were seriously injured in a horrific cycling smash in Mentone tonight.

The cyclists were catapulted off their bicycles and into the windscreen of a Toyota hatchback on Beach Rd just after 7.30pm.

Police said the driver continued 600m along Beach Rd in his badly damaged car before stopping.

Paramedics rushed to the scene where they treated the brothers, aged 33 and 35.

They had been out on a Christmas Eve ride along the popular cycling route when they were hit from behind.

Their mangled bikes lay beside the road as shocked bystanders looked on.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman Ray Rowe said the pair were in serious condition when paramedics arrived.

“They won’t be enjoying Christmas puddings for Christmas,” he said.

One of the brothers was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the other to the Alfred hospital.
Both had life threatening injuries.

One brother remained in a critical condition last night; the other was downgraded to serious, but stable.

Police were last night questioning the driver of the car, who was uninjured alongside his female passenger.

Members of the Major Collision Investigation Unit are investigating the incident.

Police were investigating whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.

The stretch of road, near San Antonio Court, was blocked off for several hours.

It was a wild night on Victoria’s roads, with a Jang Jang man also rushed to hospital in a critical condition after crashing his car in Tynong.

The 30-year-old man lost control of his Holden Commodore on Nine Mile Rd, sliding off the road and down an embankment.e windscreen smashed.