Maleny teen Hamish Bensley survives horror ATV rollover in Reesville

A horror ATV crash left a Sunshine Coast teen covered in blood, with a fractured skull and eventually on life support. Now his parents have revealed his miracle recovery.

Hamish Bensley miraculously survived a horror ATV rollover in Reesville on November 12. Picture: Contributed

The parents of a Maleny teenager have marvelled at his will to survive after his skull was crushed in a catastrophic ATV rollover.

Hamish Bensley was at a mate’s farm in Reesville near Maleny on November 12 when their vehicle rolled.

The ATV’s cage impacted on the 12-year-old’s head and fractured his skull in three places. His friend escaped without serious injury. c

Parents Joel and Dee Bensley said their son was covered head to toe in blood when they arrived.

Mr Bensley said the scene was “horrific and confronting” with emergency services working to transport Hamish to Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

“I thought he was going to die,” Mr Bensley said.

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Hamish Bensley in hospital after the accident. Picture: Contributed

Hamish being flown to Queensland Children’s Hospital. Picture: Contributed

“My wife went into shock and got onto the ground and I stood with him as the paramedics worked on him.”

After he was initially assessed he was flown to the Queensland Children’s Hospital and put into an induced coma on life support.

X-rays showed part of the Maleny teen’s skull had snapped away from his head, leaving his brain exposed.

Surgeries and treatment to clean the wound stabilised Hamish where he eventually came off life support and was taken to the intensive care unit.

An x-ray of Hamish’s skull after the accident. Picture: Contributed

Mr Bensley said his son beat the odds and was doing “amazingly well” as of Wednesday after being transported to a general ward and had been responsive and talkative with his family.

“He’s still in a world of hurt and it’s going to be a long road but we didn’t know he would pull through, it’s honestly a miracle,” he said.

Hamish is known by his family and the community to be a natural sportsman with a thirst for life and the outdoors.

Hamish Bensley is known for his love of the outdoors. Picture: Contributed

His parents work at Maleny State High School but had fallen on hard times while they moved their family home to Little Mountain to be closer to better health care for two of their sons.

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Family friend Wayne Perske has since created a GoFundMe to help the Bensleys during this difficult time.

“He’s a tough little bugger … the whole thing was pretty shocking,” Mr Perske said.

“Joel and Dee have had the most unbelievably rough year and they’re bloody nice people and we wanted to help them out as much as we could.”

Mr Perske said friends of the Bensleys had helped the family move their home while they were with Hamish in hospital along with contributing to the fundraiser.

To help the Bensleys, head here.

Originally published as Maleny teen Hamish Bensley survives horror ATV rollover in Reesville