Oteelia Richardson looking for good Samaritan after horror crash near Bundaberg

Oteelia Richardson suffered horrific injuries in a crash near Bundaberg, breaking her neck in multiple places. Now, she’s looking for the stranger who came to her aid in her darkest hour.

It was a regular drive that became a nightmare for one Bundaberg region mum.

Oteelia Richardson was driving with her young daughter at Wallaville at 9am on February 16 when the worst happened.

“I had taken my eyes off the road for just a split second to look at my daughter in the rear view mirror and when I looked back at the road, I was taking the corner too wide, my left wheels hit the gravel and I lost control and veered off to the embankment,” she said.

Thankfully, her young daughter was unharmed.

But Ms Richardson suffered two broken vertebrae in her neck.

“It was the C2 and C7 vertebrae that were fractured,” she said.

“The C2 is also known as the hangman’s fracture.”

Ms Richardson will have her ‘halo’ on for six to 12 weeks and is unsure if she will suffer any long-term impacts from the crash.

But she desperately wants to track down and thank the woman who stayed with her and called for help.

“She was of a slim build with dark brown hair,” Ms Richardson said.

“I’d love to take her out for lunch after my halo comes off to thank her. My husband is also extremely grateful.”

Ms Richardson said recovery had been a terrifying process.

“It was scary as hell,” she said.

“ I was petrified of moving for two days till they put the halo on.

“I was worried that if I moved my neck I’d paralyse myself.”

On her first night in Brisbane, the day before they put the halo on, medical workers warned her that if she needed to be sick, to press the call button as soon as she felt nauseous because if she threw up while still on her back she could choke.

“And if I had to quickly hurl myself to the side I could have seriously jeopardised myself,” she said.

Ms Richardson said she hoped her helper would see her call-out because she wanted to say “thank you so much for stopping and coming to my assistance”.

“You phoned triple-0 and remained really calm and level-headed throughout.”

Ms Richardson had to be flown to Brisbane for treatment, but said if it hadn’t been for her guardian angel, things could have been much worse.

“I’m hoping she gets recognition from everyone for being my hero that day,” she said.