Witness to Andrews family cyclist crash breaks silence

A witness to the Daniel Andrews family car crash has broken her silence and detailed the traumatic moments in the aftermath of the accident.

A witness to the Daniel Andrews family car crash has detailed the traumatic moments in the aftermath of the accident.

Jane Crittenden, now 66, was first on the scene when the Andrews’ family Ford Territory struck teenage bike rider Ryan Meuleman in Blairgowrie in January 2013.

She spoke out for the first time on Thursday, as Mr Andrews refused to answer more than 15 questions related to the incident after the Herald Sun revealed that Ryan had engaged lawyers and was disputing the Premier and his wife’s claims about the circumstances surrounding the crash.

“I’ve canvassed these matters in great detail and I’ve got no further comment to make,” Mr Andrews said, shooting down suggestions his refusal to address Ryan’s concerns made him look unsympathetic.

Ryan almost died after a collision with Daniel Andrews’ car. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Ms Crittenden said she almost drove into the back of the Andrews’ family car after turning the corner and seeing the then 15-year-old Ryan lying on the road.

“I came around the corner and almost drove into the back of them,” Ms Crittenden recalled on Thursday.

“They had hit this child who was lying on the road and my instinct was just to go straight to that child, so I got out and ran over.

“A local resident had come out, too, because it was a big hit. His bike was smashed up. The wheels were all bent, it was a mess.

“I grabbed a towel from out of my car and put it under his head because it was a burning hot day. And I had a black umbrella over him just to shield him and give him some comfort and care when you are lying on burning hot asphalt.”

Ms Crittenden recalled Mr Andrews, the then Opposition Leader, telling her that his wife had been driving the car and that she was “traumatised”.

Jane Crittenden was first on the scene when the Andrews’ family Ford Territory struck teenage bike rider. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“I had no idea who Dan Andrews was, he meant nothing to me in those days, but he must have told me the number of the house where they were staying down the road … because later, I found their house and I knocked on the door,” Ms Crittenden said.

“I said, ‘Listen, I just want to tell you – I think he’s going to be okay and I can’t imagine how traumatised you must feel’ and she (Cath) came up the passageway and gave me a big hug and said thank you so much.”

Ms Crittenden said she returned to Ryan’s home in Blairgowrie about three weeks later to “see how he was going”.

“And I got the inference that after all the trauma had settled down that possibly they had spoken to friends and thought, ‘Oh my god, this should have been dealt with differently’. And that was the last I ever had to do with it.”

Asked about Ryan’s claim that Mr and Mrs Andrews were “yelling at each other” and slow to assist him, she said: “I don’t think they were down on their knees helping, no, but I was only concerned about the child. I was focusing on him. That’s where my zone was.

“His (Ryan’s) sister appeared because that’s how I got his address and she was screaming and yelling.”

After Ryan was taken away in an ambulance, Ms Crittenden said she placed the smashed up bicycle in the back of her car, along with his helmet and backpack, and drove it to the family home.

Pressed on whether Mr Andrews and his wife had assisted Ryan at the crash scene, she said: “No. I don’t remember them helping … they were probably quite clearly concerned about their kids … I don’t ever remember them being down on their hands and knees doing too much. I think he (Andrews) would have been focusing on his children and his wife.”

She also recalled the car being moved from the scene.

Originally published as Witness to Andrews family cyclist crash breaks silence