Truck hits Vic Anzac parade marchers

Shocked onlookers say they heard a loud revving sound seconds before a vintage
military truck mowed down six war veterans in an Anzac Day parade in Melbourne.
The veterans from the Ceylon Ex-service Association were badly injured when the
truck, driven by a 64-year-old man, lurched out of control and struck them from
behind opposite the Arts Centre on St Kilda Road about 12.30pm (AEST) on Sunday.
A young woman working on a coffee cart outside the Arts Centre said she heard a high
pitched revving noise and then saw the truck "jolt off the ground".
"I know that the truck jumped a fair height and I heard people screaming," Marisa
Fiume, 25, told AAP.
"It was going quite a speed."
Onlookers lining the street rushed to assist, but were told to stand back by
emergency service workers.
Ms Fiume said shaken bystanders also attempted to comfort the truck driver who was
extremely distressed.
"He looked pretty distraught when he walked out of the truck," she said.
Inspector Greg Doueal said police would test the truck's mechanics.
"Something happened inside the truck which caused it to canon into the back of the
marchers and hit six people," Insp Doueal told AAP.
Two of the most seriously injured men, aged in their 70s and 80s, were taken to The
Alfred hospital and remain in a stable condition, after originally being listed as
critical.
They suffered injuries to their lower bodies and one of them had fractures, an
Ambulance Victoria spokesman said.
The other four men hit were also hospitalised, as well as the driver and a man on
the back tray of the truck.
Melbourne's Anzac Day commemorations began at the Shrine of Remembrance, where a
huge crowd ensured that despite age claiming many World War II veterans, the dawn
service remains as powerful as ever 95 years since Aussie diggers landed at
Gallipoli.
One of the older veterans, former Royal Australian Navy sailor Ted Gleeson, who
turns 84 this month, had his family with him.
But Mr Gleeson, who did not march, lamented he was yet to see anyone else wearing
World War II medals.
The solemnity of the dawn service gave way to the soft autumn sunshine, bagpipes and
colour of the parade through the central business district, as war vets mixed with
their families, children and people sporting football scarves heading to the
traditional Anzac AFL clash.
Ron Hodges, 63, of Adelaide, was in Melbourne for the parade and the Anzac Day AFL
clash between Collingwood and Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
After joining the navy in 1964, Mr Hodges served on HMAS Sydney on its inaugural
tour to Vung Tau during the Vietnam War.
They arrived on June 10, 1965, just two months after Mr Hodges' 18th birthday.
He said Vietnam veterans should be proud of their efforts.
"The sad thing is a lot of the Australian veterans, they returned home and some
haven't even got their medals yet."
Tony Young, 55, of Queensland, served in the Rhodesian Bush War, which raged from
1964 to 1979.
He said although the memories of battle dwindle as the years pass they never
completely fade.
"It's like a flash of lightning in your life," he told AAP.
"You get this crystal clear vivid image of that period of time in your life and
whilst the years may dim it somewhat, it never disappears."
Thirteen-year-old Adam Flemming was preparing to play his drum in the Scotch College
Pipes and Drums. His grandfather was an engineer in World War II.
"It makes me feel very proud to just be his grandson," he said.