Driven Chapter 3: The frontline heroes who put their lives on the line to save Holly Scott

In chapter three of our special 7-part web series Driven, we meet the frontline heroes who helped save crash victim Holly Scott’s life. WATCH THE VIDEO.

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When Holly Scott was trapped in her wrecked car in the Adelaide Hills, there was a reassuring voice comforting the young woman.

That voice was Anne McLean’s – one of a dozen Country Fire Service volunteers who responded to the July 2017 crash on Diggings Rd, Chapel Hill, to find a Mazda sedan crumpled around a tree from the impact.

“When I first looked at it, I was expecting to walk up the car and actually not find anyone alive in it because the car was wrapped around a tree,” the former CFS Stirling volunteer told The Advertiser in a seven-part video series Driven published online.

Ms McLean got inside the mangled car, stabilising the young driver, who was conscious but had life-threatening injuries.

Former CFS volunteer Anne McLean was one of the first responders to the serious car accident of Holly Scott at Chapel Hill. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“When I got in, I was holding her hand, telling her I was there to help her,” she said.

“When she was coming in and out of consciousness, she was saying, ‘Don’t let me die, don’t let me die’.

“I just kept saying, ‘we’ll have you out soon. It’s all good. Stay with me. Just keep talking to me’.”

Time was of the essence. The 22-year-old had obvious head injuries and several bone fractures, which pointed to possible internal bleeding.

“If someone (is) trapped like that then they need to be out in an hour and any longer than that, their body is taking that trauma so much their survivability is not as great,” Ms McLean said.

“You can imagine her car with the roof cut off with all of these people crammed into that little space working quite well together to try and get her out.”

The CFS Stirling truck had a winch to pull the car off the tree. It took almost two hours and about 30 first-responders to get the driver from the vehicle on to a stretcher.

The complexity of the rescue stuck in Ms McLean’s mind. So she was pleasantly surprised to hear Ms Scott survived and appeared on the news to raise awareness about road safety two years later.

Anne McLean reached out to Holly after seeing her on the news. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Holly was glad to receive a text from Anne McLean. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

In a rare move, the now fire management officer reached out to the young woman.

Ms Scott texted back, saying she was “left speechless” and was grateful for the emergency services who helped saved her life.

“I don’t remember anything apart from calling my boyfriend that I was on my way to his,” she said.

“Thank you for holding my hand and helping me through the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through, Anne!”

Ms McLean said four out of five incidents she attended as a CFS volunteer in Adelaide Hills were road crashes.

CFS volunteer Anne McLean during the filming of “Driven”.

She said Holly’s story served as a reminder to all motorists to stay safe on the roads, and not only over the festive period.

“People would rather be inconvenienced by coming to pick you up for half an hour than to find out that the police were at your door knocking to say that someone’s actually passed away in a car accident,” she said.

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