The same section of road that has been at the forefront of discussions was the scene of a horrific car crash
in early July.
Wendy and Mick Joy were heading to Lakes Entrance for a grocery shop from their home in Metung
and had reached the
notorious corner at Kalimna where they encountered flashing lights.
It is now law that all drivers must slow to 40km/h when passing certain stationary or slow-moving vehicles displaying flashing lights and workers on the roadside.
“It had been raining and they were hit by the vehicle behind them at 100km
while they were doing 40kms and spun into oncoming traffic and hit again at 100kms an hour from a car travelling in the opposite direction,” their daughter Kylee Morris explained.
“That piece of road is the worst, there are just so many crashes.”
The couple were airlifted to the Alfred Hospital where Mick remains in the ICU. He suffered a stroke while on the flight and has had surgery for a brain bleed. He also has a broken pelvis, hip, ribs, leg, fractures in his face and has had skin torn from various places.
Wendy was admitted to the trauma unit with eight fractures to her vertebrae, from her neck to her coccyx, as well as fractured ribs and a punctured lung. She has since been released. Wendy also had the trauma of not being by her husband’s side for a week after the incident.
“A first responder who reached out to me said that when they got to the accident scene my mum and dad were holding hands inside the wreck,” Kylee said.
“The ironic thing is my dad is one of the safest and careful drivers and he still ended up in this situation on that stretch of the
Princes Highway.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family navigate this difficult time.
“We would like to thank everyone for their beautiful messages of love and support, it definitely helps us keep going,” Kylee said.
You can make a donation by going to https://gofund.me/b4ba3dac.
