A woman is fighting for life in hospital after a fiery Christmas Eve car crash in Melbourne which left three people dead.
A speeding Audi lost control on Palmers Rd in Point Cook and crossed onto the wrong side of the road, hitting a Honda Jazz at 7.30pm.
The two people in the Audi and one woman in the Jazz were killed and the other woman was taken to hospital.
She remains in a critical condition at the Alfred Hospital, a spokeswoman has said.
Police examine the scene where the two cars collided. Source: AAP
"We've got two women in the Jazz, one of them is in the hospital fighting for life, this could be a quadruple fatality," Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer told reporters on Sunday night.
"They were probably heading home to wrap presents - one of them will never get to open them.
"You've got two others in the Audi who also won't be there tomorrow with their family."
Mr Fryer described the impact from the collision as extreme, with the Audi travelling well above the 70km/h speed limit.
Flowers are laid at the site of the crash. Source: AAP
The car was ultimately incinerated, leaving behind skid marks and the smell of burnt rubber and metal.
"You've got a motor that's been ripped out of the car, you've got the vehicle up on the barricade, and you've got a battery that's a further 100 metres down the road, so the impact has been significant," he said.
The damage was such that police could not identify the three bodies on Sunday night.
Witnesses described the crash as an inferno that burned for 15 minutes, continuing to smoulder even after firefighters put it out.
"The smoke mate, it was huge," local resident Dave Franklin told Fairfax Media.
Major Collision investigators will examine the circumstances of the collision and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
So far in 2017, 251 people have died on Victoria's roads.
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