A Camperdown man who swerved to miss a kangaroo and ploughed into a tree has been lucky to be found by a passing police officer.
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Cobden police Sergeant Heather Morris said she was on the way to a course at Halls Gap early on Wednesday when she saw a dead kangaroo on the middle of Cross Forrest Road, which links Cobden to the Princes Highway west of Camperdown.
She said she passed the accident scene, but noticed skid marks, did a U-turn and went back to investigate.
The policewoman found a Camperdown man in his mid 20s still in his black sedan after colliding with the large cyprus tree.
He is suspected to have suffered back and internal injuries and was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital by the rescue helicopter.
"The guy has swerved to miss the kangaroo, hit it, went through a drain and then collided with the tree. It was a bit hard to see the black car off the road in the dark," Sergeant Morris said.
"The car was still warm so the accident must have happened just before I came across him at 5.40am. The driver was conscious."
It's understood the driver was in a critical condition immediately after the accident, but he now is no longer in a life-threatening condition.
Sergeant Morris said the driver appeared to have done nothing wrong.
"Drivers need to be aware that there may be wildlife and livestock on the roads and always drive to the conditions," she said.
South-west police road safety adviser Senior Sergeant Chris Asenjo said Sergeant Morris was an astute, experienced officer.
"She's had the awareness to realise something wasn't right and investigated," he said.
"It could have made the difference between the driver surviving and a far worse outcome.
"Sergeant Morris is committed to her community."
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