'Absolutely traumatising': Woman assaulted in Monash Freeway carjacking
A woman has been assaulted and threatened with a fire extinguisher during a terrifying carjacking which took place in peak hour traffic on a ramp on one of Melbourne's busiest freeways.
A woman was waiting in traffic on the on-ramp to the freeway in Dandenong about 8am when a man driving a silver vehicle attempted to push his way through the queue.
The driver then crashed into cars before abandoning his vehicle.
"He then approached the woman’s car, which was at the front of the waiting traffic, and assaulted her with an object before fleeing in her vehicle," a police spokeswoman said.
The woman, belived to be aged in her 30s, suffered minor injuries.
Paul Mullett, the former head of the Police Association Victoria, was in his car, several vehicles behind the woman who was attacked.
"Just before 8am this morning, we were going onto the on-ramp at the Monash Freeway coming off the EastLink and almost directly in front of us, all of a sudden, a person ran past our vehicle in a grey hoodie with his hood over his head carrying a fire extinguisher," Mr Mullett told The Age.
"All of a sudden he went to the driver's seat of a white late 1990s Holden, pulled out a female from that vehicle, threatening her with the fire extinguisher," he said.
"He hit her with the fire extinguisher to her right arm, which was quite swollen."
Paramedics attended the scene and treated the woman, who did not go to hospital.
The man then got into the woman's car and escaped down the emergency lane of the Monash, "leaving the young female absolutely traumatised," Mr Mullett said.
Mr Mullett said he then saw another woman on the other side of the freeway and spoke to her, she also seemed shaken.
"A vehicle had hit her, and it appears to be same person who collided with her before he jumped out with a fire extinguisher on the freeway ramp and then stole the white coloured Holden."
"What compounds the brazenness of this is the time of day and the very heavy traffic on a major freeway."
Police are now searching for a white 1998 Holden Commodore with registration UJV 797 which has been driving erratically in the emergency lane of the Monash Freeway.
Witnesses have told radio station 3AW the vehicle was driving inbound on the freeway.
Caller Damien said he saw the car "tearing up the emergency lane" before it did a U-turn and exited the freeway at Wellington Road outbound, in Wheelers Hill.
"There was no police around at the time but he was definitely driving erratically," he said.
The offender is described as about 180cm tall with a slim build, and was wearing a grey hoodie.
The number of carjacking and attempted carjacking offences rose from 184 in 2017 to 247 in 2018.
Carjackings and home invasions have only been classed as a distinct offences in Victoria since December 2016, so data does not exist for this offence before then.
Mr Mullett said it was a particularly traumatising crime for the victims.
"It's certainly a very brazen crime, as we witnessed today, victims are left traumatised. This will no doubt remain with this young lady for a long time, the trauma that she suffered today. These types of crimes are increasing on a daily basis. It really questions our safety as an overall community."
Anyone who sees the vehicle is urged to contact triple zero, or to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 with any further information.