By Helena Adeloju
Karen and Tom Page got the shock of their lives when hoons “doing burnouts” crossed on to the wrong side of the road and collided with their vehicle last Monday morning.
The collision occurred at 12.10am as the couple were making their way home to Catani.
Their vehicle was heading south along Healesville Koo Wee Rup Road, near Ballarto Road when they were struck.
“There was so much smoke we couldn’t see how many cars there were,” Karen said. “There may have just been one.”
The “hoons” fled the scene of the accident, leaving them for dead.
Left dazed and confused Karen, got out of the car and wandered into the middle of the road.
Karen credits an unknown woman with saving her life.
The woman stopped to offer assistance and put her hazard lights on to alert other cars as they passed by.
“Thank you to the lady who stopped and helped us out,” Karen said.
“I thought she would just stay until the ambulance and the fire brigade came, but she stayed even after they had arrived.”
Karen and Tom were taken by ambulance to Casey Hospital in Berwick where they were both treated for facial and chest injuries before being discharged later in the day.
“We were surprised how much damage there was to the car on the driver’s side,” Karen said.
“That’s why Tom is worse.”
The couple have both take a week off work to recover, but say they may need to take more time depending on how their injuries mend and how long it takes for the shock to wear off.
Despite their ordeal, and the damage to the car they saved for years to buy, Karen and Tom contacted the Gazette out of concern for others in the community.
“We hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else. We just want people to be careful on Healesville Koo Wee Rup Road, near Ballarto Road,” Karen said.
Senior Sergeant Nathan Prowd said that although there had been no fatalities in the Southern Metropolitan region during Operation Arid over the Labour Day long weekend, the incident was cause for concern.
“This is the type of thing that could have turned out to be quite tragic,” Sen Sgt Prowd said.
“We’ll be allocating further resources in that area.”
Anyone with more information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
