Music teacher spent horror hour trapped in Wakefield Rd car crash but her uninjured cat didn’t leave her side

Trapped and injured Kate’s biggest fear was losing her pet who had been thrown from the back seat but Ollie found her in the wreckage and curled up in her lap.

Trapped in a wreck unable to move her leg moments after her car was flung across four lanes of traffic, a music teacher feared she and her pet cat would not survive.

The crash would change Kate Goodes’s life but Oliver Buttons “walked away without a scratch”.

Ms Goodes was driving along Wakefield Rd with Ollie in the back seat to visit her grandfather on a Friday afternoon in May 2020.

At the “notorious” Mallala Rd intersection in Two Wells – the same spot a motorcyclist was killed on Wednesday night – she remembers another car pulling out followed by instant pain.

“We collided at 110km/h,” Ms Goodes said.

Kate Goodes survived a car crash with pet cat Oliver Buttons by her side. Picture: Ben Clark

“There were no skid marks from either of us — there was no time to brake.

“The force sent my car across the median strip and four lanes. Oliver’s crate was thrown from the back seat into the dashboard and shattered on impact.

“I remember the bonnet flying up over the windscreen and then someone opening my door in the paddock.”

Ms Goodes said her biggest worry was the fluffy rescue would “bolt from the wreckage and disappear into the paddocks”.

Instead, Ollie did the opposite.

“He came straight to me, climbed into my lap and stayed there until the CFS could tape his broken crate back together,” she said.

“He was completely calm. It was like he knew I needed him.

“I honestly believe he used up at least one of his nine lives.

“I still think he might be magic — or possibly boneless.”

Oliver ‘Ollie’ Buttons is a finalist in The Advertiser's 2025 Cutest Cat Competition. Picture: Kate Goodes

What was left of Kate Goodes’ car after a crash on Wakefield Rd in May 2020. Picture: Kate Goodes

The Freeling woman was trapped in the car for nearly an hour while emergency crews tended to the other driver — who was in a worse condition — and said a Port Augusta doctor stopped to help stabilise her until paramedics arrived.

Ms Goodes’s ankle was shattered requiring multiple surgeries and months of physical recovery but she said the emotional shock had stayed with her.

Despite knowing she hadn’t caused the crash she was terrified she had “killed someone”.

“It’s been a big adjustment to realise I’m now somewhat disabled — all from a split-second decision by someone else,” the woman, who can no longer work as a travelling music teacher said.

“I can’t play piano or drums for long anymore, and I can’t stand for extended periods.”

Oliver who was so overwhelmed at the shelter Ms Goodes adopted him from he had to be isolated from the other animal – didn’t leave her side throughout her long, painful recovery.

Ollie kept Kate Goodes company in the aftermath of the crash and as she recovered. Picture: Kate Goodes

“I lost my independence, and couldn’t even walk to the kitchen,” she said.

“Ollie kept his paw on my ankle constantly. His tiny meows, his headbutts, his presence — he got me through.

“He’s the cat who conquered trauma with treats and heartbreak with cuddles.

“He’s spoiled — and rightly so. He drinks from the toilet, plays with his own fluff, and has a meow you can barely hear. But his presence is enormous,” she said.

Oliver is among 120-plus finalists in the running to be named South Australia’s cutest cat. Vote here.

Originally published as Music teacher spent horror hour trapped in Wakefield Rd car crash but her uninjured cat didn’t leave her side