Warragul man Marcus Hiam’s miracle escape from Land Rover Defender after it flips and crashes in Cobains

An Aussie man has had a miracle escape after his Land Rover flew 30m through the air and rolled in a horrific crash.

A Warragul man who was in a traumatic car crash with his Land Rover Defender going airborne for almost 30m before flipping has had a miracle escape. Picture: Supplied

“Where’s the body?”

That’s the question police asked of Marcus Hiam after his miraculous escape from a horrific crash in Gippsland, Victoria in April 2024.

The Warragul man was driving through Cobains, northeast of Sale, on Easter Monday when a driver towing a boat pulled out to overtake him.

“The boat struck the car — I honestly can’t remember what happened and whether I swerved into the gravel,” Mr Hiam told the Herald Sun.

Mr Hiam’s car left the road at 100km/h, flying 30m through the air and into a farmer’s wire fence.

The Land Rover Defender 130 landed heavily, rolling a full 360 degrees, and damaging every panel.

Mr Hiam’s Land Rover Defender was destroyed in a crash on Easter Monday. Picture: Supplied

“I was trying to keep it straight and get a heap of speed off it — and the back suspension had broken so the back end steered it round and over she went,” Mr Hiam said.

Mr Hiam sustained injuries to his neck, shoulder and right arm that took an “absolute pounding”.

“The rest were just cuts, abrasions and a bit of a headache,” he said.

As witnesses came running through the paddock, the 59-year-old was “working the ways from the ends of my fingers and toes up the limbs to make sure everything worked and everything functioned”.

“So then it was time at looking to get out — the driver and passenger doors were crushed,” he said.

The Defender has been dismantled at a shed near Warragul with assistance from the ‘Fallen 41’ military veterans. Picture: Supplied

“The back left hand door — I managed to pop the catch on that, I kicked it open and I walked out.”

Mr Hiam said police, paramedics and the SES arrived and were amazed he had escaped.

“They were actually looking for the body — one of the police asked the ambulance where the body was and I was standing right there talking to him,” he said.

“I can remember my head hitting the ground as the window broke, and sliding along with my head bouncing off the ground.

“I just relaxed my body and put my arms across my chest and said, ‘Jesus take the wheel it’s yours’.”

Mr Hiam, who served as an Army reservist for 17 years, was already suffering from PTSD and undergoing treatment.

“(The crash) just really shook me up,” he said.

Mr Hiam added he loved going on drives, especially to deserts, and was planning to go away in June in his Defender but now would need a new one.

“I just want to get back to doing what relaxes me — that’s my pleasure in life, is going out bush,” he said.

“It’s my happy place out there.”

Friend Ron Camier has organised a GoFundMe for Mr Hiam to help him raise money to purchase a replacement Defender, which would cost up to $20,000.

Originally published as Warragul man Marcus Hiam’s miracle escape from Land Rover Defender after it flips and crashes in Cobains