UPDATE, WEDNESDAY 4.22pm:
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Major Collision Investigation Group detectives have charged a truck driver following a fatal collision near Hamilton.
A 51-year-old Glen Waverley man has been charged on Tuesday afternoon with fail to stop and fail to render assistance.
He was bailed to appear at Warrnambool Magistrate’s Court on February 22.
The collision involved a 4WD and a truck and occurred about 6.05am on February 9 on the Glenelg Highway.
A 26-year-old South Australian man from Millicent, the driver of the 4WD, died at the scene.
His passenger, a 17-year-old Millicent boy, received life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to hospital.
UPDATE, FRIDAY 11.09am:
Police remain baffled how a truck driver they thought had been killed in a fiery crash showed up alive more than 30 hours later, 16 kilometres away from the scene of the accident.
Investigators presumed the 51-year-old man had been killed when his truck collided with a four-wheel drive on the Glenelg Highway near Tarrington, in Victoria's west, about 6am Tuesday.
The 26-year-old South Australian man driving the 4WD died at the scene, east of Hamilton, and his 17-year-old male passenger was flown to The Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he is fighting for his life.
The prime mover burst into flames and police believed the driver's body was trapped inside its charred wreckage.
But a farmer found him on his property in Penshurst, 16 kilometres southeast of the crash site, just before 4pm on Wednesday.
He was taken to the Hamilton Hospital with injuries, including burns to his body.
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Mark Amos, from the major collision investigation unit, said the man, from Glen Waverley, was in a stable condition but had not recovered enough to be interviewed.
"We're trying to piece together his movement from the time of the crash to the time when he was located by the farmer," Senior Sergeant Amos said.
"There's some 30-odd hours when we don't know where he's been.... [and] it's a significant distance to walk, particularly after being involved in such a big crash."
Senior Sergeant Amos said evidence at the crash site suggested the Melbourne-bound four-wheel drive, which was towing a trailer, had crossed onto the wrong side of the road and collided into the front of the truck.
He said it appeared the truck driver, who was driving towards Hamilton, was trying to avoid the four-wheel drive when it left the road.
"For reasons unknown to us, he's left the scene and that's where our investigation is primarily sitting at, at the moment," he said.
Graeme Presser said he was looking for parts in the shed and believes he stirred the truck driver.
"I didn't see him, I must have woken him up," Mr Presser told Channel 10 News.
"It's just an amazing story. I was a truckie years ago, and I saw this sort of thing years ago and that's why I'm doing this (farming)".
Victoria Police media said the man was not yet fit for interview, and was no longer under police guard.
Senior Sergeant Amos asked for anyone who might have seen the man walking on the road or through farmland around the Hamilton area on Tuesday or Wednesday to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
UPDATE, Thursday 3.30pm: A Glen Waverley truck driver who surprisingly survived a fatal head-on collision near Hamilton will not be interviewed by police until he recovers from extensive burns.
The man has been listed in a stable condition in the Hamilton Base Hospital.
He had been treated in the intensive care unit while under a police guard after being found by a local farmer in a shed about 30 hours after Tuesday morning's head-on crash.
The 17-year-old man who was a passenger in the four-wheel drive remains in a critical condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The Glenelg Highway near the scene of the crash is re-open but is subject to a reduced speed limit.
UPDATE, Thursday, 8am: Victoria Police major collision investigation unit officers will speak to the truck driver who surprisingly survived a fatal road crash near Hamilton on Tuesday.
The 51-year-old Glen Waverley man was found by a local farmer inside a shed within a couple of kilometres of the accident site shortly before 4pm on Wednesday – about 34 hours after the fatal crash on the Glenelg Highway at 6.05am Tuesday.
The man had suffered extensive burns and is in the Hamilton Base Hospital intensive care unit under a police guard.
Standard practise for any driver admitted to hospital after a road accident is to provide a blood sample.
It is understood the truck driver’s parents expected their son’s remains would be found inside the prime mover.
The remains of the truck driver’s mobile telephone were found in the truck.
A 26-year-old Millicent man driving a four-wheel-drive died in the collision. His 17-year-old passenger remains in Melbourne hospital after suffering life-threatening injuries.
UPDATE, Wednesday, 8.20pm: It is understood a local farmer found the truck driver with burns to his body, inside a shed on his farm, about two kilometres from the crash site.
It is not clear how or why the man managed to travel such a distance.
A 17-year-old boy, from South Australia, travelling in the other vehicle involved in the crash remained in a critical condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Wednesday night with life-threatening injuries.
UPDATE, Wednesday, 6.50pm: A truck driver presumed dead after his vehicle was involved in a fiery crash that killed one man and left a teenager fighting for his life has been found alive.
A local farmer found the 51-year-old Glen Waverley man shortly before 4pm on Wednesday.
The man was taken to the Hamilton Hospital where he has been placed under police guard, a police spokeswoman said.
It is understood that the farmer found him inside a shed on his property.
The man's semi-trailer had burst into flames after colliding with a four-wheel-drive on the Glenelg Highway about 6.05am on Tuesday.
Police previously believed the man's remains were trapped in the wreckage.
Anyone who saw the collision can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
UPDATE, Wednesday, 8.30am: Victoria Police disaster victim identification unit members will return to the scene of a fatal accident east of Hamilton today to continue the search for a missing truck driver.
The Glenelg Highway east of Hamilton, near the Hamilton Harness Racing Club, remains closed after major collision investigation unit detectives last night suspended the processing of the scene.
The collision between the B-double semi-trailer and four-wheel-drive happened just after 6am Tuesday and investigators are appealing for anyone who witnessed the collision to make contact with police.
A 26-year-old man from Millicent in South Australian man died in the head-on collision at 6.05am Tuesday.
His 17-year-old passenger suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital.
Police are working to determine if the truck driver’s remains are in the wreckage which caught fire and burnt for about two hours following the crash.
Heavy haulage is being brought in to assist in the process.
Anyone who witnessed the collision is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or to make a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
Tuesday, 3.30pm: Hamilton police Inspector Nick Finnegan said it was a horror accident site.
"One of the sad parts of being a police member is you never know what’s in store, today's accident was quite a horrific scene," he said.
"At this stage one person is deceased, one is in a Melbourne hospital in critical condition and sadly we believe the driver of the truck is within the remains of the vehicle.
"Investigators are working through that methodically."
Inspector Finnegan said the head-on collision sparked a fire in the truck.
"I'm led to believe that fire burnt for a couple of hours. The B-double was carrying general cargo and the fire also fed off the prime mover's diesel fuel," he said.
"We are working through the accident scene. Every fatal accident is a tragedy and this fits that category."
Inspector Finnegan said he had been a police officers for 35 years and it was a shocking accident.
"The Glenelg Highway is closed and will remain closed all night. I would expect it will be opened at the earliest about noon Wednesday," he said.
"We will open the road as soon as possible as we understand the closure impacts on a lot of people, including school buses and the buses have been advised of the situation. We will be keeping the local community informed.”
UPDATE 2pm: Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives are appealing for witnesses following a fatal collision near Hamilton on Tuesday morning.
It is believed a truck and 4WD collided head-on along the Glenelg Highway about 6.05am near the Hamilton Harness Racing Club.
The b-double truck caught fire and burnt for an extended period of time before the blaze was extinguished by Country Fire Authority members.
The driver of the 4WD, a 26-year-old South Australian man, died at the scene.
His passenger, a 17-year-old South Australian boy received life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to hospital.
The male truck driver is yet to be located, however police suspect his remains may be located in the wreckage.
The Glenelg Highway has been closed while the crash scene is cleared.
EARLIER: AT least one person is deceased after a collision on the Glenelg Highway near the Hamilton Harness Racing Club on Tuesday morning.
The accident happened at 6.05am involving a truck and a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The male driver of the four-wheel-drive is believed to have passed away.
A 14-year-old boy, who was a passenger in the four-wheel-drive, is understood to have suffered significant injuries and been airlifted to a Melbourne hospital. He had to be cut free.
Grave fears are held for the driver of the truck after the vehicle caught fire following the collision.
The fire was extinguished by Country Fire Authority members and police are yet to locate the driver of the truck.
The accident happened on the Glenelg Highway between Caldows Road and the Tarrington-Strathkellar Road east of Hamilton.
The cause of the accident is not known but Victoria Police major collision investigation unit officers are on the way to the accident scene.
The highway is blocked and traffic diversions are in place.
Police from Hamilton, Portland and Warrnambool and other emergency services are on the accident scene.
Anyone who witnessed the collision is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or to make a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au