A FATHER of a young child is being mourned after dying in a truck crash on Saturday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Plumber and excavator operator Kade Meehan was driving northwards on Cemetery Lane towards the Sandy Creek football ground when tragedy struck about 3.30pm.
Acting Sergeant Mark Paynter, of Wodonga police, said when emergency services arrived they found the truck had struck a tree and other vegetation.
"It's caught fire after the collision," Sergeant Paynter said.
"The truck was alight when emergency services got there.
"It's a very quiet country area, the road has minimal use and being a farming area witnesses are few and far between."
Friends of Mr Meehan told The Border Mail that he had been travelling back from doing a job in the area.
He was in his mid-30s, married, lived at Allans Flat, and had a toddler son.
"He was a good fellow," a friend said.
"He'd do a lot of things for anyone."
Sergeant Paynter said that the exact circumstances surrounding the afternoon crash would take some time to piece together with a report to be prepared for the coroner.
"It will be a lengthy investigation to find out the cause for the accident," he said.
The truck had been carrying a Bobcat excavator on its tray when it hit the tree on the eastern side of Cemetery Lane.
The roadway is a narrow windy route which runs parallel to Sandy Creek Road.
The site of the crash occurred less than 500 metres from where Cemetery Lane rejoins Sandy Creek Road at its northern end.
The Sandy Creek Recreation Reserve was visible to the east, with the lane's namesake graveyard atop a nearby hill to the west.
A sharp gutter parallels the west side of Cemetery Lane approaching the crash site and The Border Mail was told there had been reports of other incidents.
Volunteers from the CFA and SES attended the scene with heavy haulage equipment required to remove the truck from the embankment.
The lane was closed for several hours.
Mr Meehan's death brought the road toll in Victoria to 85, compared to 58 at the same time last year.
