The lawyer of the man behind the wheel of the car that smashed into the Daylesford pub and killed five people has revealed the driver suffers from insulin-dependant diabetes and needed immediate treatment after the crash.
The 66-year-old man, described as a family man from Mount Macedon, was hospitalised with minor injuries after his BMW ploughed through Daylesford’s Royal Hotel beer garden on Vincent St at 6pm Sunday.
Testing revealed the driver did not have alcohol in his system and was not known to police.
Melbourne lawyer Pratibha Sharma, her partner Jatin Chugh and their nine-year-old daughter Anvi, along with their friend Vivej Bahtia and his 11-year-old son Vihaan were killed in the incident.
Mr Bahtia’s 36-year old wife Ruchi and their six-year-old son were injured in the crash and both remain in a stable condition in hospital.
Lawyer Martin Amad on Wednesday revealed his client suffered a medical episode before the fatal incident.
“[The driver] is deeply distressed and feels great empathy with the families and friends of the victims and of the wider Daylesford community,” Mr Amad said, according to Daily Mail Australia.
“My client is a 66-year-old family man who has no criminal history. He returned a negative alcohol reading at the scene. He is an insulin dependent diabetic and required immediate treatment by paramedics at the scene.”
Mr Amad, who described the incident as a “terrible tragedy”, said the driver was still in hospital.
He confirmed he had been interviewed by Victoria Police and had not been charged with anything.
“It’s anticipated the investigation will take some time,” Mr Amad said.
A 43-year-old Kyneton women and a 38-year-old Cockatoo man were also among the injured patrons. The man was discharged from hospital on Tuesday, while the woman remains in a stable condition in hospital.
An 11 month-old baby who was sitting with them at the time of the crash was also injured and discharged from hospital on Tuesday.
More than a hundred people gathered at a park in Daylesford for an emotional vigil on Monday.
Federal MP Catherine King, state MP Mary-Anne Thomas and emergency services personnel all attended along with shell-shocked community members.
The pub was filled with hundreds of patrons in the hours before the crash due to the unofficial long weekend before Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup public holiday.
The area, which also includes an ice-cream shop, was set up post-Covid with lots of tables and chairs.
Images taken at the scene on Monday show the chaos that remains, with damaged picnic tables still covered in glasses and water jugs.
Several businesses adjacent to the scene made the decision to remain closed on Monday, despite the increased presence of visitors in the popular tourist town over the Melbourne Cup weekend.
The intersection around the crash site has remained taped off to the public.
Superintendent Fitzpatrick said the white BMW was travelling southwest down Albert St in the town when it mounted a kerb and drove through the beer garden.
The front of the BMW was crushed and the bumper almost torn off.
– With NCA Newswire