Two girls airlifted after car collides with freight train
Six-year-old Breeana Carlson arrives in a state of shock at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle after a crash with a train which left her pregnant mother and two sisters, Maddison and Shaylah, 2 and 7, seriously injured.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A DISTRAUGHT mother cried “the lights didn’t turn on” moments after her car was hit by a freight train on a level crossing yesterday, leaving two of her daughters fighting for their lives.
A pregnant Vanessa Anne Carlson, 30, was driving three of her children back from visiting her partner’s mother at Moorland, north of Taree, when the impact sent her car rolling more than 30m into a paddock about 11am.
Two-year-old Maddison and Shaylah, 7, were flown to John Hunter Hospital with serious head wounds, with Shaylah also suffering suspected spinal injuries and a broken leg.
The car was knocked away upon impact before landing on its side with Ms Carlson and three of her children trapped inside.
Ms Carlson and her other daughter Breena, 6, were also flown to hospital with minor injuries.
Tony Buttsworth was on his tractor nearby when he heard the crash and rushed over to discover it was Ms Carlson, who he had previously rented a home to.
“Her first words were ‘the lights didn’t turn on’ and I told her there were no lights at this crossing,” he said.
“A couple of kilometres up the road there’s another crossing where there are lights.”
Police crash investigators were yesterday inspecting skid marked leading up the crossing, which also did not have boom gates, indicating Ms Carlson probably tried to stop when she saw the train.
Ms Carlson had recently moved back to the Taree area from Sydney, and had been staying at a motel in Coopernook with her partner Philip, who was minding her three-year-old son Blayze when the crash happened.
Mr Buttsworth said Ms Carlson had dragged her children from the car and was sitting holding an unconscious Shaylah when he reached the scene.
“There was a lot of blood on the kids,” he said.
Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokesman Glen Ramplin said the scene was a “disaster zone” and it was “very lucky no one was killed”.
Before she left motel earlier in the day, Ms Carlson had talked about the recent positive changes in her life.
“She was so happy, talking about her life and how things were going well, then this happened,” a motel worker said.
Close family friend Justine Hobart, who Ms Carlson’s children call “nana” said they were a “beautiful family”.
She said Ms Carson had decided to move back to Taree because she missed the “country life” and were due to move into her Ghinni Ghinni home when she moved out in coming weeks.
“She’s a great mum, she does everything for those kids,” she said.
“I could never fault her. She would jump to give them whatever they needed. She was loving being back, things were going well. She started seeing someone new about a month and a half ago.”
She described Shaylah as soft-natured and Maddison as “bubbly and boisterous”.
“When I saw those kids today my heart jumped out of my throat,” she said.
“Breeanna is doing OK, but she’s in shock over what’s happened.”
Residents first on scene rushed to help.
Sue Bennell said she saw four cars on scene before emergency services arrived and people running around trying to get the family out of the wreckage.
She said the crossing was located on an embankment and the car had rolled down it into a paddock.
“There was one policeman on scene by then and he was laying down and looking into the car,” she said.
“I saw the car wasn’t squashed so I thought there was hope.
“I’ve been praying all day for the family.”
Mayor of Taree Paul Hogan told the Daily Telegraph the community would unite to support the family.
“It is a tragic accident, I feel very sorry for the family,” he said.
“I’ve been told this is a local family and this is a great community with a great history of rallying behind people in need.”
Crash investigators are at the accident site and have established a crime scene.
Line of emergency services on scene at site of accident Coralville- reports suggest four occupants in car @nbnnews pic.twitter.com/Fo54jpUxmt
— Sally Rafferty (@sally_rafferty) April 21, 2016
Westpac Chopper lands on Coralville Road after car accident involving a freight train details @nbnnews pic.twitter.com/LnLPBsG8Wh
— Sally Rafferty (@sally_rafferty) April 21, 2016
Originally published as Two girls airlifted after car collides with freight train
‘Start listening’: Fury as council votes to almost double rates
Angry residents are staring down the barrel of a massive rates rise after North Sydney councillors voted at a fiery meeting to apply to the independent regulator for an 87 per cent hike.
School evacuated after ‘bomb’ threat
An elite school on the Qld-NSW border has been evacuated after a “bomb” threat, causing panicked parents to slam the incident as “not funny, not clever – and not entertainment”.