The truck driver involved in a horrific multi-vehicle smash on the Monash Freeway says he was confused by the white and yellow lines on the road.
A woman suffered serious injuries after being trapped for half an hour inside her badly mangled car after the freeway crash at Dandenong North.
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Woman trapped in car after Monash Freeway crash
A woman has been freed from a mangled car after a multi-vehicle smash that left two others injured and shut down three lanes of peak-hour inbound traffic on the Monash Freeway on Wednesday morning.
Three women were injured in the collision, which involved three cars and the truck.
The crash, which occurred near Stud Road just before 8am, caused major peak-hour delays.
![The crash site on the Monash Freeway at Stud Road.](/web/20170216062508im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/d/4/1/q/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gud3j1.png/1487166214129.jpg)
One car was crumpled to about half its size; the back end was completely crushed in.
Truck driver Steve Smith said he had been confused by both white and new yellow lines on the road.
"It was all flowing alright then because of the white and yellow lines, it's really confusing ... all of a sudden the cars stopped in front of me. I hit the skids and hit the car," Mr Smith told Nine News.
"The car in front of me skidded and hit the car in front."
![The scene from above of the multi-vehicle smash on the Monash Freeway on Wednesday morning.](/web/20170216062508im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/d/3/h/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gud3j1.png/1487166214129.jpg)
He told radio station 3AW the white lines should be removed.
"Get rid of them because people are confused with the white lines and yellow lines," Mr Smith said.
A police spokeswoman said all possibilities would be investigated, including whether the lines caused confusion.
But police at the scene denied the lines painted on the road were to blame.
Paramedics treated a woman aged in her 40s for neck and back injuries at the scene, while emergency services worked to remove her from her car.
She was taken to The Alfred in a serious condition.
An Alfred spokeswoman said the woman was in a stable condition at the hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
Two other women, also aged in their 40s, suffered minor injuries. Both were taken to Dandenong Hospital in a stable condition.
MONASH FWY IB before STUD Rd. Currently down to one lane. Take Princes Hwy - Lights being adjusted to help ease congestion #victraffic pic.twitter.com/oVvpqC9pGz
— Jimmy Traffic (@JimmyTraffic) February 14, 2017