An infant girl has been flown to a Melbourne hospital with life-threatening injuries after being hit by a car in the regional Victorian town of Smythesdale, west of Ballarat.

Emergency services were called to Vermont Road at approximately 1:20 pm on Monday, 12 October, following reports that a vehicle had struck the child. Paramedics attended the incident and arranged for the infant to be transported by air to a Melbourne hospital for urgent medical treatment.

The incident prompted a police investigation, with authorities working to establish the circumstances surrounding the collision.

Smythesdale is a regional community in the Golden Plains area, approximately 20 kilometres west of Ballarat. Vermont Road is within the local road network serving the town and surrounding rural properties.

At the time of the initial report, police had not publicly released further details about the events immediately preceding the collision. Information about the vehicle, the driver's circumstances and the precise sequence of events had not been confirmed in the published report.

The child's identity and the name of the hospital receiving her were also not disclosed in the available reporting. Her injuries were described as life-threatening, indicating the seriousness of the emergency and the need for urgent specialist treatment.

Investigators will seek to establish how the collision occurred and whether any factors contributed to it. Further information may be released as police enquiries progress.

The incident is a reminder of the vulnerability of young children around moving vehicles, particularly in residential and regional environments where driveways, roads and pedestrian areas can be close together. However, the circumstances of this particular incident have not yet been established, and no assumptions should be made about responsibility.

For residents and motorists in Smythesdale and the wider Ballarat region, the immediate concern is the child's condition and the outcome of the investigation. Authorities may provide further updates once additional details can be confirmed.

At the time of publication, the key confirmed facts were that the incident occurred on Vermont Road in Smythesdale at about 1:20 pm, the infant sustained life-threatening injuries, she was flown to a Melbourne hospital, and police were investigating.

Important verification note: The available report does not establish the cause of the collision or provide a subsequent update on the child's condition. Those details should not be presented as confirmed until authorities release further information.