THE driver of a car which crashed into the Pyramid Creek bridge on Kerang-Murrabit Road on Thursday evening is in a serious but stable condition in the Alfred Hospital, her father says.
Shane Selleck, who was a passenger in the vehicle, said his 18-year-old daughter Samantha suffered life-threatening injuries when the car hit the side rail of the bridge around 6pm on Thursday.
Mr Selleck said the crash had been caused by a goanna.
“A goanna came up out of the side cut and Samantha braked to try to avoid it,” he said.
“But because it was so big it got lodged under the front of the vehicle and the front wheel, which caused the car to lose traction.
“Then it started sliding.”
Mr Selleck claimed that although his daughter was a learner driver, her driving was not at fault.
He said the car hit the guard rail and spun 180 degrees before hitting it again so hard that the steering wheel snapped.
“The rail punctured the side of the car, and Sam and my wife, Tracey, were both trapped due to the car folding in,” he said.
Mr Selleck, who pulled both women out of the car, said Sam suffered a broken pelvis, internal bleeding and a collapsed lung as well as a broken femur and lacerations.
“They had to stabilise her at the scene in the ambulance then they gave her a blood transfusion at the Kerang airport.”
He said Sam underwent surgery on arrival at the Alfred, had undergone a second surgery since then and only came out of intensive care on Tuesday.
“She’s been through hell and back,” he said.
“She’s not out of the woods yet but she’s stable.”
Mr Selleck said he and his wife, who were “battered and bruised”, were taken to Swan Hill Hospital after the crash but were later released.
Kerang Police said no evidence of the goanna had so far been found but the cause of the crash was under investigation.
Senior Sergeant Mick Kearnes said police were hoping the best for Samantha’s recovery.
