Two women have been killed by a car after stopping to help an injured kangaroo on a busy highway in Melbourne‘s north.
Emergency services were called to the Hume Freeway in Craigieburn just after 7.30pm yesterday over reports of the crash.
A 30-year-old woman from Beveridge died at the scene, and a 30-year-old woman from Thomastown later died in hospital.
Assistant Commissioner for Road Policing Glenn Weir said the women had stopped to help a kangaroo they had struck with their car.
“Another vehicle travelling in the same direction hasn’t seen their car, we think, until the last minute, swerved to avoid the car, and it struck the two females at relatively high speed,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
Weir said he understood why the women wanted to help, but warned motorists that it is dangerous to be on the road at night.
“It’s inherently dangerous to be on the roadway, particularly at night, particularly in drizzly conditions, and you’ve just got to really consider your surroundings,” he said.
“It’s terrible for the person driving behind them as well, who struck them, other people on the freeway who saw what happened.”
Two women were killed on the Hume Freeway in a collision at Craigieburn, Melbourne. (9News)
The driver of the car that hit the women remained at the scene and spoke with police.
The circumstances of the crash remain under investigation and any witnesses are urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Victoria Police said 205 people have died on the state’s roads this year, up by 12 from this time last year.
In the past four days alone, nine people have been killed.
Weird said three, including the two women last night, of those were pedestrians, three were motorcyclists, and three were motorists. 
“The commonality is that there’s really no commonality. From our perspective, trying to task and patrol and address the trauma, it is really difficult,” he said.