A close shave

By Callan Date
A BERWICK couple is lucky to be alive after an out of control car crashed through their front yard.
Colin and Denice Corby were shocked when they awoke early last Friday morning and discovered the trail of destruction caused by the vehicle.
The white Ford smashed through the fence of their Coowarra Way property and uprooted a tree before coming to a stop only metres from their bedroom last week.
Amazingly the couple were woken not by the crash but by an alert neighbour.
“We never heard anything at all.
“We slept through the whole thing until one of our neighbours rushed over and knocked on the door,” Mr Corby said.
“We were very lucky that he hit the tree otherwise they would have crashed straight into our bedroom,” he said.
Mr Corby said he always believed it was a matter of when, not if, a crash like this would happen outside his house.
“The hooning is very regular around here. They use these roads like a race circuit and they are always doing burn outs and wheel spins.
“It doesn’t just happen at night either. It is happening during the day as well,” he said.
Insurance will cover this damage bill but Mr Corby is worried the next crash may cost someone their life.
He said the safety of pedestrians and children, who may be in the street when the next incident occurs, is at risk.
Mr Corby believes speed humps need to be installed immediately to slow the motorists down to the 50 km/h speed limit.
“Something has to be done before someone gets killed or seriously injured,” he said. “You get people doing 80 and 90 km/h around here and it’s so dangerous.”
Ms Corby said several residents had expressed similar concerns to her and she hoped to gather a petition of signatures to present to Casey Council.
“A lot of the neighbours want something done about the hooning behaviour as well. I have already rung council once and something needs to be done about it,” Ms Corby said.
Casey’s traffic manager Paul Hamilton said officers are currently investigating a request for speed humps in the vicinity of Coowarra Way.
“Council has an established process for assessing and prioritising potential locations for local traffic management treatments,” Mr Hamilton said. He said the Coowarra Way request would be assessed in accordance with this procedure.
However, Casey councillor Steve Beardon has spoken out against the way in which funds are allocated for road safety measures. He says more needs to be done.
“Council owns all local roads and we have a responsibility to do all we can to ensure they are safe,” Cr Beardon said.
Police are investigating the incident.