Man's skull fractured during roadside bashing in Yellingbo in Melbourne's east
Rebekah Cavanagh
Lilydale & Yarra Valley Leader
February 05, 2014
UPDATE: A MAN was clobbered over the head and left for dead after it is believed he stopped to help his female housemate whose car had broken down in Melbourne's north east.
Emergency services found the 51-year-old man in a roadside ditch with horrific injuries.
He suffered a fractured skull and remains in a critical condition in The Alfred hospital.
Witnesses have told police they saw two men dragging the victim across the road.
Another motorist said they saw a man with an object in his hand beating a man in the ditch.
Investigators have been told the Warburton man drove to Macclesfield Rd, about 250m south of Beenak Rd, in Yellingbo to help his friend after her vehicle broke down just after 6pm on Tuesday.
The friend told police she went into the bushes to go to the toilet when she heard yelling and screaming.
Too frightened to return, she said she ran through the bush to nearby Healesville Koo-Wee-Rup Road and flagged down a passing vehicle.
She said a female passer-by in a beige Ford Territory, who went by the name of "Meredith", took her to the Belgrave area where she notified police of the incident.
When police attended they found the bashed man clinging to life near his vehicle.
But the woman's blue Ford sedan, registration UQG 947, was nowhere in sight.
She told police it must have been stolen by her housemate's attackers.
Yarra Ranges crime investigation unit detective Senior Sergeant Alan Price said it was likely the victim knew his attackers.
"The victim is in a very bad way," he said.
"He remains unconscious in hospital so we are unable to speak with him to find out exactly what has happened."
Sen-Sgt Price said the victim was not known to police and initial inquiries had not indicated any reason why he would have been targeted.
He urged anyone with information about the incident or the whereabouts of the woman's car to come forward.
"We have had several witnesses come forward already," he said.
"We particularly want to speak with the woman who went by the name of Meredith so we can verify the woman's statement."
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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