Crystal Kirkus praises strength of daughter Maya, community support, after Pimpama accident

The mum of a girl hit by a car in Pimpama has revealed the incredible strength the nine-year-old is showing as she bids to return to school, while the community continues to rally around the family.

Crystal Kirkus says “my soul left my body” when told that her daughter had been hit by a car while on her way to school.

But she has since been overwhelmed by “phenomenal” support from the community after the horror accident – including by backing her campaign for road safety improvements.

Pimpama State Primary College student Maya, 9, suffered a serious head injury and internal bleeding when struck on the corner of Dixon Dr and Augusta Blvd about 8.20am on Friday.

“My partner Henry got the phone call,” Ms Kirkus said. “And because he knows how (I would react) he was like, ‘don’t ring her, I’m going to go to her, I’m going to get her now’.

“I found out from one of my work colleagues. I never use my phone at work but she rang that morning and for some reason I picked up. She was like, ‘Oh my god Crystal, I don’t think it’s Maya but there’s a little girl that’s been hit opposite your street – which is Augusta Boulevard – and Dixon Drive.

Maya in Gold Coast University Hospital.

“My heart sort of dropped a little bit, but I just didn’t think it would be my daughter. I was a little bit panicky, but with a ‘she’ll be right’ kind of attitude.

“But then my partner came and my boss told me, ‘Crystal, Henry is here’. I was like, ‘yeah yeah, I’ll be there in a second’, and she said ‘Crystal, Henry’s here, you’ve got to go’.

“And then I knew.

“It was like my soul left my body. I knew instantly what was going on. So I had a massive meltdown all the way down the M1, screaming, carrying on, throwing a tantrum.

I couldn’t get there fast enough.”

Maya in Gold Coast University Hospital.

Ms Kirkus said she couldn’t sleep for the first few days after the accident, but was resting a little easier now because Maya was doing so well in hospital.

She said the support of the community was helping to give her the strength to get through the ordeal.

She also praised the actions of 17-year-old son Koda, a student at Pimpama State Secondary College, who was the first family member at the scene.

“It blows my mind how Maya is doing. I’m so proud of her,” Ms Kirkus said.

“I think the scariest part was, externally, you can obviously see she’s had a massive bump to the head, but she looks like she’s had a really bad bike accident.

“More my concern was what I couldn’t see, what was going on internally.

“With the CT scan showing a bleed in her head, it wasn’t on her brain, but it was under her skull.

“Then she’s got small little fractures in her pelvis, in her leg bone. When that’s happened, because the kneecap is still like cartilage when they’re younger, it’s not developed properly. All the tendons kind of around it have been damaged. That’s why she has to have her leg in a brace for quite some time until we can figure out what physio is going to do.

Maya at Gold Coast University Hospital on Friday.

“I don’t know what the future holds for her other than it’s going to be a little bit of a process.

She’ll go back to school for half days, because obviously with the concussion and her head injury she’s more susceptible to being tired and irritable towards lights and noise. I can see that just by being with her.

“But she is a strong, spirited girl. She’s got some serious strength inside of her. She’s a good soul that one.

“She so much wants to get to school. Her friends are her motivation, school is her motivation.”

Ms Kirkus says Maya is recovering well and determined to go back to school.

Ms Kirkus said she did not blame the driver of the car that hit Maya and instead wants to improve the safety of the roads in the area.

“I don’t blame the driver. This person is going to have enough anguish and guilt as it is. I don’t even know entirely how this happened. It is merely an accident and it’s really unfortunate for my daughter, but really unfortunate for the driver too. I’m just thankful that my daughter’s alive.

“It’s nobody’s fault. If it wasn’t Maya, it was going to be another kid. This is why I’m pushing what I’m pushing. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I left this alone. I’m lucky my daughter’s alive.

“I don’t want to sit here and not try my best to stop this happening again.”

Ms Kirkus is leading a campaign for lights to be installed at the intersection. More than 600 people have already signed a petition calling for change, while the council has announced it will conduct an urgent safety review.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE: WWW.CHANGE.ORG/P/SAFE-ROADS-FOR-OUR-CHILDREN

MAJOR SAFETY REVIEW LAUNCHED

COUNCIL has launched a major review of safety at a busy Pimpama street after a nine-year-old girl was struck by a car while making her way to school on Friday morning.

The Pimpama State Primary College student suffered a serious head injury when hit at the corner of Dixon Drive and Augusta Boulevard.

Queensland Ambulance Service operations supervisor Jayney Shearman said the girl was “extremely lucky” to survive.

Division 1 councillor Mark Hammel said he was saddened to hear about the accident and that the city had launched a major safety review in response.

“It is never news you want to receive that there has been an accident on our local roads, particularly one where a young person has been injured,” Cr Hammel said.

“My thoughts are with the young girl, her family and the school community.

“In response to this accident we are commencing a full safety review of the intersection with specific attention to pedestrian safety.”

Dixon Drive in Pimpama where a nine-year-old girl was hit by a car on Friday. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

A petition calling for traffic lights to be installed at the junction was launched on Monday evening and already had been signed by almost 500 people.

Cr Hammel said that was one of the options the review would consider.

“Local residents have made contact with me to suggest traffic lights or pedestrian crossings are needed at this location and this is what the safety review will consider, amongst other options.

“Following community feedback on speeding, the City had previously constructed a concrete traffic island to stop people cutting the corner onto Augusta Boulevard, as well as installing a speed-awareness device almost directly across from this intersection.”

In addition to Pimpama State Primary College, which has 773 students, Dixon Drive is also the location of Pimpama State Secondary College, which has 1607 enrolled.

A busy childcare centre is located alongside the two schools.

Division One councillor Mark Hammel. Picture: Mike Batterham.

Responding to the petition, resident Mary Comrie said it was often difficult to find a safe place to cross the road.

“We cross Dixon Dr to access one of the kindys,” Ms Comrie said. “We sometimes have to wait five minutes for a safe space to cross, which is fine. But I always worry young kids might take a risk to cross if they’re running late to school.

“There should be multiple places to cross as this road is long and busy with cars. Often speeding cars.”

The junction of Dixon Drive and Augusta Boulevard in Pimpama. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Cr Hammel acknowledged there were “ongoing concerns” among residents about the safety of students making their way along Dixon Dr.

“That ongoing community feedback helped to drive the installation of extra supervised crossing points, new footpaths, additional signage and yellow lines in the immediate school area.

“Works will also commence in the September school holidays for a new supervised crossing location at Cunningham Drive North.

“Despite the previous safety precautions undertaken, I recognise the need for additional measures at this location and will work with the community and the City on this.”

Local MP Michael Crandon said the campaign for traffic lights from locals was a “positive response by the community”, which should make the dangers of children crossing the road “top of mind” for drivers.

He said it was right that the council conducted an urgent investigation into pedestrian safety near the schools.

A police investigation into Friday’s accident is ongoing. The young victim is believed to be recovering well at Gold Coast University Hospital.

Follow @keithjwoods

Originally published as Crystal Kirkus praises strength of daughter Maya, community support, after Pimpama accident