A fight between masked men armed with machetes and the driver of another car has broken out after a crash on a busy Melbourne freeway.
The collision occurred on the Monash Freeway in Narre Warren at about 2.30pm on Saturday, and police said all of the occupants of both cars – blue and silver sedans – “got out of the vehicles and began fighting with each other, some believed to be armed with edged weapons”.
Hundreds of shocked drivers were forced to stop as the chaos unfolded, with many heading for a nearby exit ramp.
One witness, Emily Seddon, told 7News three masked men wearing all black got out of one of the cars, at least one armed with a machete, and attacked another car.
“We started to see cars swerving, and we were like ‘wow, what’s going on’. Three guys came out in full black outfits with ski masks, and one of them was holding a machete,” she said.
“He started banging the machete on one of the cars there.”
The driver of the other car could be seen talking to police after the incident, while the three masked men ran into bushes on the side of the road and fled the scene.
The dog squad was then called in to search for the men, but were unable to track them down.
Victoria Police said there were no reports of injuries, and no arrests had been made by investigations were ongoing.
The disturbing incident comes after two men were stabbed by African gang members wielding machetes and knives in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Carlton on New Year’s Eve, four teenagers were injured in machete attacks on Caroline Springs and Pakenham on Tuesday and Thursday, and an African teenager was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Fitzroy on Friday night.
Header image: Left, two of the masked men. Right, the cars involved in the incident (7News).
