Innisfail mum, Martha Rudken, warns a lack of mobile service on Palmerston Range could cost lives
An Innisfail mother is calling for better mobile reception on a major Tablelands road after she and her family survived a terrifying crash with a semi-trailer, but were unable to call for help.
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An Innisfail mother is calling for better mobile reception on a major Tablelands road after she and her family survived a terrifying crash with a semi-trailer, but were unable to call for help.
Martha Rudken, her husband Jordan, and their daughter Amirah were driving along the Palmerston Range early morning on May 3 for a family barbecue, when their vehicle was struck by the truck.
With her cousin also in the car, Ms Rudken said it was an incident which could have ended in tragedy had it not been for another motorist who raised the alarm.
“The last thing I remember was my daughter giggling at a video, before a big bang,” she said.
The crash ripped the rear door off the vehicle on the same side where Ms Rudken was sitting and sent the car spinning across the road.
“There was this loud, unforgettable bang. The door flew off … the truck took out the back tyre ... we’re very lucky to be alive.”
But what haunts Ms Rudken is what happened afterwards.
“We had no reception. None of our phones worked. The truck driver tried to use his radio, but he couldn’t get a signal either,” she said.
“We were sitting ducks, I didn’t know if anyone was going to call for help. I honestly thought I might die up there.”
Because of roadworks, traffic had been funnelled into a single lane just before the crash.
As the family merged back onto their side, the semi-trailer came sliding across the road into their path.
“Like, what if I had internal bleeding? We couldn’t call anyone,” Ms Rudken said.
“We need service up there.”
A young man who had passed the family earlier in a white Hilux ute told emergency services after witnessing the crash.
“I don’t even know how to thank him properly,” Ms Rudken said.
The man has driven ahead to an area with reception and called for help, then returned to tell the Rudken family an ambulance was on the way.
“He was like a knight in shining armour. We were in shock, I didn’t even see his face, but he made all the difference,” Ms Rudken said.
Hill MP Shane Knuth said it was unacceptable regional and remote areas do not have full telecommunication service.
“I support the call for improved reception and coverage in regional and remote communities,” he said.
“In this modern day and age it unacceptable that we still do not have full services in remote areas of the state.”
Along with the federal member for Kennedy Mr Knuth has addressed many black spots in the region.
This includes coverage in the East Palmerston area.
“But more needs to be done,” Mr Knuth said.
Ms Rudken was taken to hospital with a serious eye injury, a cut to her leg.
“I think the adrenaline masked most of the pain, my only focus was getting my daughter out of the car,” she said.
Ms Rudken hopes sharing her story will raise awareness about the dangers of having no reception in remote areas and push for improved coverage.
“It’s certainly been a wake up call,” she said.
“The accident has helped us learn to love one another and not taking things for granted.”
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