The sole survivor of a catastrophic crash that killed a young couple and their unborn baby has revealed she’s still undergoing surgeries almost four years later.
The Brisbane mum was stopped at traffic lights when a stolen car driven by a drunk 17-year-old ran a red light and collided into her in Alexandra Hills on January 26, 2021.
The car had also hit Matthew Field and his pregnant partner Kate Leadbetter, who were walking their dogs at the time. The couple and their unborn son were killed.
The teen driver was sentenced to a maximum of 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to manslaughter and several other charges.
The only survivor has spoken for the first time about the fateful night that has changed her life forever.
The only surviving victim of the 2021 Brisbane crash that killed a couple and their unborn son has revealed she is still undergoing surgeries to cope with her injuries (pictured, electric wires attached to the woman’s spine to intercept pain signals)
‘I went from being a happy, pretty healthy mum, being very hands-on … to not being able to pick up my child anymore, to dropping things, forgetting things,’ she told Nine News.
The woman, now 35, suffered horrific back injuries and underwent a surgery this week to attach electric wires to her spine.
The wires are connected to a device that uses electric pulses to intercept pain signals before they reach her brain.
However, there’s no guarantee the procedure will work.
‘I have nerve damage through the right side of my body and damage to my spine in three places,’ the mum added.
‘It’s almost been three years and I’m up to surgery number four on my back.
‘From what I understand, if I’d been a couple of centimetres further up the road I wouldn’t have survived, just from the velocity of the impact.’
Brisbane couple Matthew Field and Kate Leadbetter (pictured above) were walking their dogs when a 17-year-old ran a red light in a stolen car and struck them
The sole survivor of the crash (pictured speaking to Nine News) went from a hands-on mum from being unable to pick up her child anymore
The ‘constant pain’ sees the mother struggle to make it to work some days.
She estimates medical bills and income lost due to the crash have cost her at least $40,000.
‘It is really unfair and I hate to say that because in comparison to families that lose their children … that’s not fair,’ she said.
The Australia Day crash was shortly followed by another which killed Townsville 22-year-old Jennifer Boardless a fornight later.
Christopher Hughes, the man driving the car that killed her, who was sentenced to 12 years behind bars on Friday, was chasing a group of teenagers in a stolen car.
The four deaths within a fortnight in early 2021 saw Queenslanders call for harsher youth crime laws.
The government has since introduced a range of new laws for young criminals, including a presumption against bail for repeat offenders and the use of ankle bracelets for some offenders.
Matthew Field was killed along with his partner Kate Leadbetter, who was 24 weeks pregnant at the time. Their unborn son was also killed
