By Ebony Bowden and Carolyn Webb
Smoke and flames were coming out of a car before it ploughed into a childcare centre in Tarneit in Melbourne's west on Monday morning, police say.
Acting assistant commissioner of road policing Deb Robertson said it was not known what prompted the car to suddenly veer into the large building after police attempted a routine intercept.
The driver died in the bizarre car crash which also destroyed the Kool Kidz childcare centre.
Ms Robertson said a police operational response unit car had been patrolling the area as part of Operation Regnant, which is investigating aggravated burglaries and stolen vehicles.
A car has ploughed into a childcare centre in Tarneit, destroying the building and killing the driver.Credit: Justin McManus
Police had been travelling north along Tarneit Road and the maroon car was travelling south. It wasn't stolen and hadn't been speeding, but "it was pretty quiet and it was the only car on the road" so police did a U-turn and drove behind the car.
The police approached the car from behind and "as they activated their lights and sirens to intercept that vehicle, they saw a flash in the car and some smoke and flames".
Ms Robertson said police approached the crashed car to try to get the driver out, but were driven back by the intensity of the flames.
She said then the driver got out of the car and moved away from it, but police and Country Fire Authority firefighters were unable to extinguish the flames.
The driver of the vehicle managed to get out of his car but only got a short distance from the blaze and died.Credit: Justin McManus
Ms Robertson said the CFA thought that there may have been an accelerant in the car "for [the fire] to be as intense as it was when it hit the building".
The driver of the vehicle managed to get out of his car but only got a short distance from the blaze and died.
Firefighters were unable to save the Kool Kidz childcare centre after battling to bring the blaze under control.Credit: Justin McManus
He is yet to be identified as both the car and building, now extinguished, are still too hot for investigators to get into.
The incident will now be investigated by major collision detectives and Professional Standards Command.
Kool Kidz childcare centre Ian Johnson said the building had been completely destroyed by the smash.Credit: Justin McManus
Ms Robertson said the case was being treated by Professional Standards Command as a death with recent contact of police.
Officers have maintained they were not pursuing the vehicle when it sped off and crashed into the building.
Firefighters battled for several hours to bring the blaze under control with aerial appliances but the building continues to smoulder and has sent a large plume of smoke over the area.
Kool Kidz owner Ian Johnston, who started the centre in 2014, said police had told him very little about the incident which destroyed his business.
He said he received a phone call from his security company at 4am to tell him an alarm had gone off and there was a police incident.
"I jumped in the car and rang local police and she said there had been a fire. I arrived and realised 'there has been a fire' was a major understatement," he said.
Mr Johnston said his priority now was finding alternate arrangements for families.
"We contacted all of our staff and all of our families. Some of the staff have turned up and been very supportive," he said.
"We're working through with our insurance and making sure children have somewhere else to go."
Police are expected to brief media in the coming hours with the flash police believed they saw in the car moments before the crash to become a focal point of the investigation.
A police spokesman said the northbound lanes of Tarneit Road, closest to the childcare centre, were expected to be closed all day.