Four police officers have died after being hit by a truck when they stopped to detain a speeding driver on an Australian motorway, officials said.
The officers - three men and a woman - were struck by the vehicle while they were at the side of the road after pulling over a driver on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne.
The 41-year-old driver of the Porsche 911, who had been pulled over, took grisly photos of the crash scene that followed, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said.
The driver then fled on foot and posted the images online.
The tragedy was the largest loss of police lives in a single incident in Victoria state, Mr Ashton said.
He added that the refrigerated truck driver was under police guard in hospital. He suffered a medical episode after the crash and had lost consciousness.
It was not clear whether the collision was an accident or deliberate, the police chief added.
The Porsche driver, who has a criminal record, was in police custody and was being questioned by homicide detectives, Mr Ashton said.
He had been pulled over 50 minutes before the crash for driving at 25mph above the speed limit, police said. He then tested positive for an illicit drug.
The officers were in an emergency stopping lane arranging to impound the car when they were struck.
The truck hit the back of a police car, spinning it out of the lane, before crashing into the Porsche, which became wedged under the cabin.
All the officers present died at the scene.
