Darla Vaz: Cement truck incident in Wollongong CBD: Woman appeals for support
A woman has described the moment she was trapped under a loaded cement truck in the Wollongong CBD as a “nightmare” as she recovers from her serious injuries.
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Darla Vaz, the woman hit by a cement truck in a freak accident in the Wollongong CBD has called for support from the community as she recovers from the near-fatal incident.
On October 13, the 33-year-old was flown to St George Hospital with critical injuries after she was hit by a loaded cement truck at the intersection of Harbour and Crown Streets.
When paramedics arrived, they found Miss Vaz woman trapped underneath the bed of the truck, sparking a major rescue operation.
At the time, Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector John Paull said the mission to free the woman was precarious, and involved the help of multiple agencies, including police and paramedics.
“It was a complex operation using airbags to lift both the truck and its axel as the woman’s legs and hips were partially trapped under the weight of the vehicle,” he said.
“It’s difficult when someone is trapped by confinement, we need to lift the vehicle very carefully to ensure we don’t injure the person further.”
Miss Vaz fractured her rib in three places, broke her pelvis and suffered significant bruising to the right side of her body.
Her boyfriend, Yunho, was also hit by the truck and suffered minor abrasions to his body.
Miss Vaz has called for support to help relieve the financial burden of the incident through a GoFundMe page, where she described the ordeal as a “nightmare”.
“We were at the south coast in Wollongong trying to make the most of the one free day and night together in our schedule to relax when we checked out of our hotel and into this tragedy,” she wrote.
Miss Vaz said the money would assist in “the loss of Yunho’s wages due to him being casual and now unable to work with his injuries without sick leave.”
“Our biggest needs for this GoFundMe are also the loss of my laptop which was smashed in the accident … the loss of all our items in both our backpacks, our phones and ID and ongoing therapy costs due to trauma,” she wrote.
“Yunho has been by my side day and night and the trauma is still as vivid as ever imprinted in our memories for the rest of our lives.”
“Our deepest heartfelt thanks and gratitude go out to all the people who have sent us loving messages of support, prayers and concern during this time.”
The online fundraiser has raised more than $6000 for Miss Vaz and her boyfriend since it was launched on October 21.