'My car saved my family': Dad speaks out after crash

An everyday school pick-up went terribly wrong for a dad and his three kids. Now, he's thanked his 'incredible' car for saving them.

LUCKY TO BE ALIVE: Andrew Carmody and his family Carlo, 13, Ruby, 10 and Roman, 7 back at home in Mudjimba after a head-on crash last week. Picture: John McCutcheon

IT WAS an everyday school pick-up that went terribly wrong for this Sunshine Coast family.

But thanks to some incredible safety features in their brand new car they can live to tell the story.

Mudjimba's Andrew Carmody was driving home with his three children Carlo, 13, Ruby, 10, and Roman, 7, after school last Thursday when they were hit head-on while travelling on Yandina Coolum Rd.

The Mitsubishi Outlander was pushed down a culvert after it was hit head-on by a Nissan Navara in wet weather. The forensic crash unit is investigating. Picture: John McCutcheon

"We had no control over it. Around the corner comes this Nissan Navara sliding all over the road. All we could do was watch it happen," Mr Carmody said.

The Mitsubishi Outlander was pushed into a culvert as a result, with water quickly seeping into the car.

"I thought 'Christ, we've survived the accident and now we're going to drown'," Mr Carmody said.

Andrew Carmody and his three children were taken to hospital in a stable condition after the crash. Picture: John McCutcheon

Multiple paramedics, police and firefighters rushed to the scene and the family was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

Mr Carmody said if it wasn't for the safety features in his car, it might have been a different story.

"It's what saved our lives," he said.

Ruby and Roman Carmody in hospital after the crash. Picture: Contributed

He later emailed CEO of Mitsubishi Australia, John Signoriello, to thank him for the "incredible job their car did in our horrific accident".

"He rang me personally to see if they could do anything to help my family. I said they had already done plenty by building an incredibly safe car," Mr Carmody said.

Andrew Carmody in hospital after the crash. Picture: Contributed

The company has provided the family with a brand new car to use for as long as they need until their insurance is sorted.

"What car company would show this much compassion?" Mr Carmody said.

"[The CEO] also told me he called all of his technical department into a meeting and showed the pictures of our car and read my email.

"There wasn't a dry eye in the house as this is what they work so hard for. Even though they do a lot of safety testing, to hear and see a real-life example of a whole family being saved was very special to them."

Mr Carmody has thanked the incredible safety features in his Mitsubishi Outlander for saving his family's lives after the horrific crash at Coolum Beach last week. Picture: Contributed

The father-of-three was brought to tears when he spoke of the "overwhelming" support the community had shown his family since the crash.

"It has made us realise how precious life is and what's important, and it's not making the beds any more," he said.

"I wanted to let the world know that there are many great humans out there and thought it would be a good reminder to all leading up to Easter to make sure their car is safe and take extra care, as things can go wrong in an instant."

He also said he hoped the crash would encourage his own children to take care on the roads as they get older.

"It was a pretty horrific thing. They'll never forget it," he said.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman said the forensic crash unit was still investigating the incident.