Odetta Maxwell’s death the third road tragedy to strike family

The Maxwell family already knew the pain road accidents could cause when they got the heartbreaking call about Odetta.

Few people carry the trauma of road crashes like Carrie Maxwell, Leah Maxwell and Isobel Vlahiotis.

For years, they have seen their parents struggle with acquired brain injuries sustained in separate car crashes – and then the unspeakable happened.

In January, their sister, Odetta Maxwell, 25, died after her vehicle overturned on Port Wakefield Highway.

The pain of their loss has been unbearable – and yet, as if their bond wasn’t already strong enough, is has drawn them even closer together.

Up until that tragedy, they would share screenshots of road crashes amid fears it might be someone they know, someone dear to them. It was their coping mechanism, a way of supporting each other.

“Because we’ve had that trauma in the past, as soon as there’s a serious crash – it’s probably a bit crazy – but we just immediately think it’s related to us,” Leah said.

Their greatest fears were realised when Odetta was critically injured when her car left the road about 11am on January 31 – she bravely held on to life for several hours before passing away in hospital.

“It makes death very real,” Leah said.

Isobel added: “I just sat there thinking, this is my worst nightmare.”

All three sisters rushed to the hospital after learning of the crash – and the experience that followed was heartbreaking.

Because Odetta was unable to identify herself, doctors and nurses could not provide the sisters with information for several hours.

“It wasn’t until about 9.30pm that we heard on the news that she was clinging to life, and I knew that was really not okay,” Carrie said.

“The nurse eventually came out and said she was very, very unwell. We knew that the next time we saw her, it was going to be to say goodbye.”

Isobel said that final farewell was etched in her memory.

“You walk down to do the final organ donor thing and they turn everything off,” she said.

Isobel Vlahiotis, Carrie Maxwell, holding photo of Odetta, and Leah Maxwell. Picture: Ben Clark

Odetta Maxwell tragically died in a single-car crash. Picture: Facebook

“The thing that makes it hard to comprehend is that she hardly had a scratch on her, and it just looked like she was sleeping, but she never woke up.”

Odetta’s mother, Rachael Maxwell, was hit by a car when she was younger, while her father, Kym Maxwell, was critically injured in a crash of his own.

Rachael said the vehicle crashes affected not only loved ones but also witnesses and first responders.

“We have both suffered traumatic brain injuries which we have always had to deal with,” she said.

“Odetta has now passed from a horrific car accident, so we ask that drivers become absolutely diligent to avoid the horrors that may ensue. An eternity is a long time.”

Isobel said dealing with Odetta’s death was an “extremely traumatic” experience for her parents.

“When the doctor sat us down and said Odetta’s brain injury was unsurvivable, my mother just couldn’t understand it,” Isobel said.

“The big thing both my parents have said to me is that it’s so unbelievable for them because they both survived it and Odetta was the biggest fighter out of all of us.”

Horrified by the 37 lives lost on South Australian roads already in 2023, the family hopes sharing their experience of living with road trauma can save somebody else’s life.

“It seems like every single day there is a crash at the moment,” Isobel said.

Odetta Maxwell. Picture: Supplied by family

“If hearing our story can make one person make that phone call to a friend or family member to make them change their behaviour on the road, then it’s worth it.”

They have since learnt distraction was the contributing factor in Odetta’s crash, which happened just five minutes from her family home while she was on her way to work.

She had stopped at a service station to get food and was eating when she lost control.

Odetta swerved on to the adjacent gravel and rolled her vehicle.

“You don’t even think about that, you know. Of course being on your phone and that sort of thing is a problem,” Leah said.

“But it’s a distraction – you’ve got to focus on driving the car, and that’s got to be the constant reminder you give yourself.”

A major artery in Odetta’s leg was severed in the crash.

Despite crawling from the vehicle and receiving assistance from other motorists, she lost too much blood before paramedics arrived.

“The biggest reason you need to take even more care in rural roads is because while there might not be much traffic, help is so far away if something goes wrong,” Isobel said.

“If help was closer in her case, who knows.”

Odetta Maxwell, a 25-year-old Port Wakefield woman tragically died after a, single car crash on Port Wakefield Highway. Picture: Facebook

Leah said a split-second lapse in concentration could change lives forever.

“My husband always says make sure you drive carefully, focus, don’t go on your phone,” she said.

“It’s cliche, but you’ve got to think of your family.”

Carrie said she hated what road trauma had done to her own health and those close to her.

“That trauma of growing up with our Dad having that car accident and me experiencing that at 11, I know what it did to me health-wise and now I’m seeing it happen to my own children who are eight and 10,” Carrie said.

“They’re worried about everything. They’re experiencing what I did at a young age, and that was the last thing I wanted for my children.”

Isobel said everything in her life had now became a constant reminder of the tragedy.

“Odetta and me were best friends and it’s literally like you lose a part of yourself. All of a sudden, you have to learn to adjust to this new reality that you don’t want,” she said.

“She would be absolutely devastated she left us behind.”

Isobel said bringing more attention to the impact of road trauma would be a focus moving forward.

“One day, we actually sat down and spoke for like two hours about a little plan to create some type of charity or foundation to help children with parents who have got brain injuries,” she said.

“When I sat with her in the hospital, that’s what I was telling her … that I’ll do what she wanted us to do.”

It was just one of Odetta’s many plans and passions in her short life.

She was a promising musician studying psychology and neuroscience at university, inspired by her parents’ struggles.

“It’s strange the way that her life ended short because she lived it like every day was her last,” Leah said.

“But she had so much more to give.”

One of Odetta’s lasting legacies will be the life she gave to others.

“It doesn’t make it easier, but the fact her organs were donated gave Odetta another purpose,” Carrie said.