The horror morning crash, near the Bolte Bridge section of CityLink, caused traffic chaos throughout the day and into the evening peak, prompting road experts to call for better management of trucks on the tollway.
The crash, which hurled Roxburgh Park man Yousef Jaffary from the cabin of his tip-truck 20m to the road below, could cost the economy up to $10 million, experts warned.
Motorists faced a nightmare commute into work. Traffic stretched back up to 5km on the freeway and clogged arterial roads.Police believe the crash was caused when a car merged into the truck's lane, clipping it, as both vehicles travelled towards the West Gate Freeway in North Melbourne.
Mr Jaffary's truck then swerved into the right-hand barrier before veering across all four lanes and flipping on to the barrier wall.
It is understood the 39-year-old was thrown clear of the truck before it jack-knifed and overturned.
The truck driver's nephew, Hasain Alabbudi, said it was a miracle Mr Jaffary wasn't killed.
"He's a great survivor. Like we say, he's a soldier," he said.
"I don't know how he survived that fall."
Mr Jaffary, who migrated from war-torn Iraq in 1994, has operated his business, clearing construction sites, for about 10 years.
Mr Alabbudi said his uncle faced a difficult 24 hours as doctors at the Royal Melbourne Hospital worked to save his life.
"He's doing good. But they think there could be changes in that," he said.
Mr Jaffary suffered horrendous injuries in yesterday's crash and subsequent fall, smashing his pelvis, breaking his leg and ribs, and slicing his kidney.
"He's got internal bleeding and they were trying to stop that," Mr Alabbudi said.
"Apparently his head is all right, though."
Mr Alabbudi said his uncle worked from dawn to dusk.
"He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. He got cut off and all of this has happened," he said.
Superintendent Neville Taylor said that police were investigating whether Mr Jaffary was wearing a seat belt.
And they would trawl through CCTV footage from CityLink and VicRoads cameras to help reconstruct the accident.
"We will learn what we can, to see what can be brought back to prevent these type of incidents happening," Supt Taylor said.
A 25-year-old Spotswood man driving the car suffered minor injuries and was assisting police with their investigation.
Mr Alabbudi said his uncle's strength would help him survive.
"He's a very, very strong bloke ... he used to be a bodybuilder back in the day," he said.
"He's had a very tough life. His brother also got killed over there (in Iraq) when he was just a kid.
"But he's done it tough, and he came here and started working hard.
"Unfortunately, this has happened."
Any witnesses should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The crash, which hurled Roxburgh Park man Yousef Jaffary from the cabin of his tip-truck 20m to the road below, could cost the economy up to $10 million, experts warned.
Motorists faced a nightmare commute into work. Traffic stretched back up to 5km on the freeway and clogged arterial roads.Police believe the crash was caused when a car merged into the truck's lane, clipping it, as both vehicles travelled towards the West Gate Freeway in North Melbourne.
Mr Jaffary's truck then swerved into the right-hand barrier before veering across all four lanes and flipping on to the barrier wall.
It is understood the 39-year-old was thrown clear of the truck before it jack-knifed and overturned.
The truck driver's nephew, Hasain Alabbudi, said it was a miracle Mr Jaffary wasn't killed.
"He's a great survivor. Like we say, he's a soldier," he said.
"I don't know how he survived that fall."
Mr Jaffary, who migrated from war-torn Iraq in 1994, has operated his business, clearing construction sites, for about 10 years.
Mr Alabbudi said his uncle faced a difficult 24 hours as doctors at the Royal Melbourne Hospital worked to save his life.
"He's doing good. But they think there could be changes in that," he said.
Mr Jaffary suffered horrendous injuries in yesterday's crash and subsequent fall, smashing his pelvis, breaking his leg and ribs, and slicing his kidney.
"He's got internal bleeding and they were trying to stop that," Mr Alabbudi said.
"Apparently his head is all right, though."
Mr Alabbudi said his uncle worked from dawn to dusk.
"He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. He got cut off and all of this has happened," he said.
Superintendent Neville Taylor said that police were investigating whether Mr Jaffary was wearing a seat belt.
And they would trawl through CCTV footage from CityLink and VicRoads cameras to help reconstruct the accident.
"We will learn what we can, to see what can be brought back to prevent these type of incidents happening," Supt Taylor said.
A 25-year-old Spotswood man driving the car suffered minor injuries and was assisting police with their investigation.
Mr Alabbudi said his uncle's strength would help him survive.
"He's a very, very strong bloke ... he used to be a bodybuilder back in the day," he said.
"He's had a very tough life. His brother also got killed over there (in Iraq) when he was just a kid.
"But he's done it tough, and he came here and started working hard.
"Unfortunately, this has happened."
Any witnesses should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Source: News.com
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