Tragic update after little boy is killed while trying to cross the road with his dad in Melbourne

A young boy lost his life in a tragic incident when a ute struck him down while he attempted to cross a busy road with his father in Melbourne over the weekend.

Ten people died on NSW roads this weekend alone, while the Melbourne toddler became the 281st person to die on Victoria's roads this year.

Emergency services raced to the scene in Dandenong North on Sunday, and despite desperate efforts to revive the little boy, he died at the scene.

Distraught family members were seen being consoled by friends and emergency responders.

The male driver, 60, from Gippsland, stopped at the scene and assisted police with inquiries.

He has since been released by police, who are treating the fatality as a tragic accident. No charges have been laid at this stage.

The exact circumstances of the collision are yet to be determined.

It's understood the toddler was waiting to cross busy Stud Road with his dad when he wandered onto the road.

'Obviously involving a young child, it's something that's pretty traumatic, and no one wants to be called to that,' Senior Sergeant David Hewatt said.

Shocked locals told Nine News it was the tragedy waiting to happen as there is nowhere to safely cross the road.

'I just think it's awful,' Miguel Torres said.

'At least they should install a bridge or an easier way for pedestrians to cross the road.'

Victoria's 2023 road toll is now 49 more than the same time last year.

Authorities urge motorists to slow down and take care on the roads as the holiday season gets underway with the national toll up six per cent.

Ten people died on NSW roads within 48 hours on one of the worst weekend's ever.

They included an elderly man on his way home from the local bowling club in the state's central west.

Ray Padgett, 84, was heading home on Cowra Bowling Club's courtesy bus with his daughter on when a Kia Sorrento collided with the minibus late Saturday night.

Mr Padgett was ejected from the minibus and died at the scene. Four others in the minibus were injured and taken to hospital

The Kia driver, 32, allegedly fled the scene before he was arrested nearby a short time later.

He was interviewed by police on Sunday and spent the night in custody after he was charged with a series of offences.

They included dangerous driving occasioning death - drive manner dangerous, cause bodily harm by misconduct - in charge of motor vehicle, negligent driving (occasioning death) and two counts of knowingly make false/misleading statement.

He will appear in Orange Local Court on Monday.

This weekend's horror road toll included mother Trish O'Brien, 38, and her long-term partner John Stanton, 40, who were killed in a single vehicle crash near Wagga Wagga in the state's Riverina region on Saturday.

Police said Stanton lost control of his ute at the end of a long stretch of Keajura Rd and crashed into a tree.

It comes after 17-year-old P-plate driver Mahee Uddin died in a single-vehicle crash on the M5 at Revesby in Sydney's south-west on Friday night.

Around 338 people have been killed on NSW roads this year, 77 more than 2022 and the highest road fatality rate in six years.

The horror year on NSW's roads has been punctuated by high-profile tragedies like the Hunter Valley bush crash, in which 10 revellers died while being driven home from a wedding in June, and a September crash at Heckenberg in which two siblings died. 

Nine-year-old James Edds is among the victims, and his father, Stewart Edds, experiences the anguish of the trauma anew each time he learns of another individual killed on the road. 

On January 4, while James and his mother, Anastasia, were en route to purchase soccer boots with the money James received from Santa, a drunk driver recklessly disregarded a give-way sign at Killarney Vale and collided with their vehicle.

Kristie Fiona Merrett, 51, recently pleaded guilty to aggravated dangerous driving and causing harm by misconduct.

She is currently behind bars and will be sentenced at a later date.

'You never want another person to go through that first phone call I got … Anastasia rang me, she was hysterical, she said 'James won't wake up',' Mr Edds told the Daily Telegraph.

'The next call I got was 'James still won't wake up, they're airlifting him to the John Hunter Hospital'.'

Trauma specialists told he family that James bore the brunt of the collision when the 4WD struck his passenger door. 

Additionally, he experienced a second significant impact when the airbag deployed, pushing him once more.

James died as a result of his injuries two days later in the hospital. Although his mother physically survived the crash, the family revealed that she continues to endure constant emotional pain due to the loss of her only child in the accident. 

Safer Australia Roads and Highways (SARAH) founder Peter Frazer issued a harrowing plea to drivers.

His daughter Sarah, 23 was tragically killed on the Hume Highway in 2012.

She was heading to uni when her car broke down and pulled into the emergency breakdown lane while waiting for assistance. 

A passing truck side-swiped the broken-down car, killing both Sarah and the tow-truck driver who had come to her aid.

'As we go into the Christmas and New Year, we need to slow down and give people the space they need to be safe, and ensure that we are also not driving distracted or under the influence of alcohol or drugs,' Mr Frazer told Sunrise on Monday.

'We haven't actually improved over the course of the last 10 years.'

NSW Premier Chris Minns is under mounting pressure following the substantial reduction in random breath tests and axing hidden speed cameras.

He spent Sunday defending the government's decision to ditch hidden speed cameras.

'I never believed the idea that someone would receive a toll in the mail several weeks after they've committed an offence would slow people down on NSW roads,' Mr Minns said.

'When it comes to more RBT enforcement … The key measure there is to recruit and retain more police. That's the bottom line. We're over 1000 police officers short from the authorised strength.'

He said scrapping the wages cap and paying police recruits to study had led to recent increases in people training to become officers.