I nearly died 5 days ago...

JSE81
JSE81 Posts: 114 Member
in Chit-Chat
Hi all I was travelling in a very remote area of Australia for work and have had a massive single vehicle accident. My car, a 2014 Toyota Prado has left the road at about 120km/h and rolled about 6 times. I wasnt driving, I was in the front passenger seat.

When I regained consciousness I was upside down hanging by my seatbelt and something I will never forget is the crying and screaming of 2 of my friends and coworkers who were in a tangled mess on the roof and the engine still running with steam and smoke entering the cabin.

Thankfully the engine has run itself out of fuel as the car was upside down and one of the girls has been able to unbuckle my seatbelt and get me out of my chair. I've climbed out of the car and helped pull them out of the wreck. As I leaned against the car I started to lose my vision.

A minor miracle, one of the girls has flagged down a car about 10 minutes after we crashed which turns out to be another co worker.

They've carried me over to their car and as I've been resting against it I have passed out again. I woke up lying in the grass on my side with one of them clearing my airway.

We were 166km north of the closest town with no mobile/cell phone signal. We have been put into the back of the other car and driven to the nearest town. We picked up phone signal about 100km from town as we went past a mine and have called ahead for an ambulance. We've met the ambulance about 40km's out of town and received treatment on the side of the road.

We were barely lucky to survive the accident let alone walk away from it. I've received massive lacerations to my right leg where it has gone through the windscreen. I had 70 stitches, 15 local anesthetics and about 3 hours of surgery to fix up my leg, concussion and lots of cuts and bruises.

One of the girls was air lifted to another hospital with suspected spinal injuries but was cleared and released from hospital the following day and the other girl had a bit of glass in her eyes, some minor cuts and bruises and a sore hip.

I know it's cliche but I had that moment where you evaluate your life and decide to make some changes.

The car is a write off. It saved our lives. It crumpled where it should have and the airbags went off when they should have.

I was the worst injured and I am making a speedy recovery, I should be back at work by Thursday.

Thanks for reading all. Here are some photo's of the accident and my injuries. :smiley:

http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/jsme81/library/Car crash October 2014?sort=3&page=1
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Replies

  • OnceBitt2xshy34
    OnceBitt2xshy34 Posts: 797
    Wish the you the speediest of recoveries :)
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • JSE81
    JSE81 Posts: 114 Member
    Thanks guys.
  • Mahsaa18
    Mahsaa18 Posts: 57 Member
    damn, wish you all the best
  • nmcrosier
    nmcrosier Posts: 268 Member
    Ouch! I wish you well in your recovery. Listen to your body, get it what it needs. It's been 12 years since mine. I was side swiped and sent into a concrete barricade. When I went to the ER the nurse said I was the most stoic patient she ever had with a foot dangling by a bit of skin...umm that was shock honey. ;) Anyways, thankfully for you and your coworkers all seems ok. Best wishes to each of you.
  • OnceBitt2xshy34
    OnceBitt2xshy34 Posts: 797
    You are welcome :D
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,224 Member
    Whoa!! I'm very glad you're ok - my brother works out in remote Australia and I know he's been super concerned at times about the lack of coverage if there is an emergency.

    Take care and recover well, man!
  • winf
    winf Posts: 764 Member
    Stuff that makes you think about life for sure. Speedy recovery!
  • libbydoodle11
    libbydoodle11 Posts: 1,351 Member
    Oh my goodness, I am glad to hear all of you are in recovery and going to be okay.
  • FabulousFantasticFifty
    FabulousFantasticFifty Posts: 195,832 Member
    Thank God that you are here to share your story! I have gone through a few incidents where I shouldn't have survived one being abducted, held hostage and shot, two rolling a Jeep off a mountain and three being run almost head on then off the road by a drunk driver. I feel that we are meant do do something great in this world when we are fortunate enough to make it through these things. :) I try to live everyday remembering this and I have much confidence that I will one day definitely know why I am still here. God Bless and Speedy healing!!! You are definitely meant for greatness, never forget that! :D
  • nmcrosier
    nmcrosier Posts: 268 Member
    ^^ Amen!
  • Misshodge64
    Misshodge64 Posts: 8,588 Member
    WOW
  • Edie30
    Edie30 Posts: 216
    *kitten* us Aussies have to be a bit tough huh!!! Wishing you a speedy recovery
  • phyllb
    phyllb Posts: 735 Member
    God bless ur spirit
    Was hit by a bus many years ago. Still have pain and issues but grateful to be alive and lovin life. Enjoy
  • JSE81
    JSE81 Posts: 114 Member
    nladopoulos wrote: »
    Ouch! I wish you well in your recovery. Listen to your body, get it what it needs. It's been 12 years since mine. I was side swiped and sent into a concrete barricade. When I went to the ER the nurse said I was the most stoic patient she ever had with a foot dangling by a bit of skin...umm that was shock honey. ;) Anyways, thankfully for you and your coworkers all seems ok. Best wishes to each of you.

    Thanks. As the more painful injuries heal I realize I'm actually suffering some long term lower back knee and shoulder pain. I'll go up to the hospital tomorrow and get them looked at and have new dressing put on my cuts and lacerations.

    Your injuries sound horrific. How's the foot these days?
  • raysputin
    raysputin Posts: 142 Member
    Unless you were in NT, 120KPH is over the speed limit. Doing 120KPH in a 4WD is asking for trouble anyway - they are unstable at speed as the six rollovers attests. I can't see a bitumen surface in the photos which makes the 120KPH even more ill-advised.

    With luck, your pains are just minor and will go away by themselves but you must get them checked out to prevent possible troubles later in life.

    I hope you choose your drivers more wisely in the future.
  • PurringMyrrh
    PurringMyrrh Posts: 5,276 Member
    Those lacerations are brutal! Awesomely meaty.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    your lucky to be alive....
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    So glad you are ok and being looked after well. It was a pleasure to walk with you and hope we can again one day. {hugs}
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    Certainly wasn't your time to go :) Those photos should come with a graphic warning I think.

    Best of luck with your recovery.
  • JSE81
    JSE81 Posts: 114 Member
    raysputin wrote: »
    Unless you were in NT, 120KPH is over the speed limit. Doing 120KPH in a 4WD is asking for trouble anyway - they are unstable at speed as the six rollovers attests. I can't see a bitumen surface in the photos which makes the 120KPH even more ill-advised.

    With luck, your pains are just minor and will go away by themselves but you must get them checked out to prevent possible troubles later in life.

    I hope you choose your drivers more wisely in the future.

    Goes without saying however this does not need to be covered as I wasn't driving. We have talked about it with the driver and left it at that.

    The roads were sealed. I'm not sure what photo you are looking at but the wreck is sitting in a towing yard.

    Thanks for the advice but it's not a recruitment process. She's made a mistake and now has to live with it. If the state government is prepared to give her a license then that's good enough for me.

    Cheers
  • JSE81
    JSE81 Posts: 114 Member
    mockchoc wrote: »
    So glad you are ok and being looked after well. It was a pleasure to walk with you and hope we can again one day. {hugs}

    I am happy to call you a friend Sue. You are a wonderful person. Same. I'll be in Townsville for the start of the school holidays.
  • LoneWolf_70
    LoneWolf_70 Posts: 1,151 Member
    dude. wow. glad youre ok.
  • getitamb
    getitamb Posts: 2,019 Member
    Well wishes on your recovery.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    We might have to do the Lavarack Barracks walk instead of the hill this time while you're still healing.. if you are up to even that by then. Otherwise we'll go for a beer near the beach :)
  • JSE81
    JSE81 Posts: 114 Member
    mockchoc wrote: »
    We might have to do the Lavarack Barracks walk instead of the hill this time while you're still healing.. if you are up to even that by then. Otherwise we'll go for a beer near the beach :)

    Sounds good. I'll be having my knee looked at today and requesting an extended medical certificate. I'm hoping my knee is only bruised and doesnt require surgery.
  • Joannah700
    Joannah700 Posts: 2,665 Member
    I'm sorry to hear about the accident, but truly believe what 'Fantastic' said earlier - if you're saved it means you still have a role to play and people to influence.
  • ParamoreAddict
    ParamoreAddict Posts: 839 Member
    Yeah it sucks when you almost die. I've done that a couple of times. When I was 17 years old, I had my first grand mal seizure while taking a shower. Cracked the back of my neck on the tub, started turning blue (from what I was told), curled up in the fetal position but somehow I came out of it.

    Another time was when my wife was driving and slammed on the brakes going about 80 mph because a dog ran out in the middle of the road. We spin around a couple times until we crossed the median and ended up on the other side of the freeway. A semi was coming straight for us and, luckily for us, he was paying attention and got out of the way or both me and her would have died back then for sure.

    It's scary but definitely makes you re-think your life.

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  • Sunshine2plus2
    Sunshine2plus2 Posts: 1,492 Member
    Oh wow, hope you heal up fast!
  • Smirnoff65
    Smirnoff65 Posts: 1,060 Member
    I wanted to be flippant and say 'cool story bro' but seriously..... cool story bro, that is an amazing, albeit horrific experience, so glad you are taking it so positively, I have had a couple of brushes with death myself and it certainly changes your outlook. Keep safe buddy and I hope your injuries clear up soon.

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