Fatal car accident at Tolmie

THE Mansfield shire community are grieving the loss of a local Tolmie man who died after his vehicle collided with a tree on June 12. The 64-year-old was travelling along Mansfield-Whitfield Road early Wednesday morning when a tree fell on his vehicle. According to Mansfield paramedics, the car veered off the road and crashed into nearby shrubbery. Two teachers from Geelong Grammar Timbertop campus found the vehicle shortly after 9am and called emergency services. Police, paramedics and SES workers all attended the scene and the Mansfield-Whitfield Road and Old Tolmie Road intersection was reportedly closed for several hours. Mansfield paramedic Michelle Poggi described the accident as “immensely confronting”. However, she extended praise to the two teachers who stayed with the victim before and after emergency services arrived. “I honestly have no words to describe the bravery of those two men,” Ms Poggi said. “Most people would have just called Triple Zero and waited for the ambulance to arrive, but these people climbed through the smashed windscreen to get into the car and provided spinal and airway support to the victim. “They held him, called out his name and comforted him. “They went above and beyond to ensure he wasn’t alone.” The veteran paramedic of 20 years has nominated the two teachers for an Ambulance Victoria commendation award. “Bystanders or witnesses are often understandably reluctant to intervene when something frightening occurs,” she said. “But when we arrived on scene, both teachers were in the car with the victim. “I said ‘Hey you can step back now that we’re here’, but they wanted to stay." Ms Poggi said the teachers continued to help paramedics for at least an hour. Despite Wednesday’s tragedy, Ms Poggi wanted everyone to know “extraordinarily brave and compassionate people” were in their community. “I was honestly in awe of them both, and I’ve been in this job a very long time and I’ve seen a lot of things,” Ms Poggi said. “It’s important to acknowledge and commend people who do kind and brave deeds.”