Mt Eliza mum’s ‘life sentence’ after horror smash involving P-plater
A young mum was so severely injured after a P-plater smashed into her car in Somerville in 2018 that she is considering having a leg amputated to help with ongoing pain. And she has spoken of her trauma in the hope of slowing drivers down.
South East
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A young mum facing the prospect of losing her leg after a horror crash is urging drivers to slow down.
Abigail Dawn, 26, was injured in 2018 when the car she was driving was hit by a P-plate driver who failed to give way at a roundabout at the intersection of Eramosa Road West and Coolart Rd in Somerville.
It was determined that speed was a factor in the crash.
Ms Dawn was taken to Frankston Hospital with neck, shoulder and lower back pain and still struggles with ongoing numbness down her right leg.
She has extensive nerve damage and has developed complex regional pain syndrome and has been told she may need her leg amputated.
“They call it an elective amputation. How crazy is that? To be in a position where I am choosing whether to keep my leg,” Ms Dawn said.
The Mt Eliza mum of one said the accident had changed her life, and that of her daughter, Hayley, 8, forever.
“It’s soul-destroying. I used to be such an active mum, coaching netball, involved with Scouts and working full time.
“All of that is gone now. Some days I’m so down I can’t get out of bed.”
Ms Dawn decided to share her story in the hope that it would make people more careful on the roads.
“You hear a lot about the death toll on our roads, but not so much about the life sentence people with serious injuries get,” she said.
“Just going to the shops can be almost impossible. When I do get there I’m using a walking frame or stick or sometimes I’m in a wheelchair. People stare. They ask me what happened. I make myself tell them because maybe it will make them think twice before putting their foot down.”
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Late last year speed limits were lowered on 38 roads across the Mornington Peninsula Shire as part of a two-year trial approved by the State Government.
Only council-managed “high risk sealed rural roads” were part of the trial, which includes Browns Rd in Rye.
Ms Dawn’s lawyer Katie Minogue from Maurice Blackburn, said anything that could reduce the life-changing impact of road trauma should be considered.
“So many of these accident are avoidable and we know reduced speed limits in areas where speed is known to be a factor in collisions can reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roads.”