‘Never forget’: Anthony Albanese breaks silence on devastating ongoing impact of car crash in 2021

Anthony Albanese has opened up about a secret struggle he’s been dealing with while travelling across the country during a gruelling election campaign.

EXCLUSIVE

Anthony Albanese has opened up about the life-changing impact of a car accident that occurred five years ago revealing he suffers ongoing spinal issues.

Mr Albanese’s car was a write-off after a black Range Rover being driven by a 17-year-old P-plater in the wrong lane struck his Toyota Camry in early 2021.

The Labor leader was taken to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney’s inner west where it later emerged his condition was more “complex” than originally thought.

In an exclusive interview with news.com.au, Mr Albanese has revealed it had ongoing impacts that may surprise voters.

Anthony Albanese (with fiance Jodie Haydon) has lifted the lid on a private struggle he’s been dealing with for years. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

The PM said a car crash in 2021 had left him with ongoing spinal injuries. He is pictured in the aftermath of the collision being assessed by paramedics.

“It took me some time to recover physically and I still have damage to my spine,’’ the Prime Minister told news.com.au.

“So I have difficulty sitting in a car for long distances.”

The impact has been present during the election campaign, with Mr Albanese’s office trying to avoid long car journeys where possible.

When he’s on the campaign plane, he has more freedom to move around and walk which helps his back issues.

Listen to Samantha Maiden’s exclusive interview with the PM on news.com.au’s From The Newsroom podcast tomorrow. In today’s episode, Samantha goes one-on-one with Peter Dutton.

Mr Albanese said the moment he saw the car heading for him, he genuinely thought he was going to die.

“(It) wasn’t scary, it was just almost a matter of fact, this is how my life ends,’’ he said.

“I will never forget the bang, the sound that was just so loud as (that car) hit the front right hand side of (my car).

“It was a bad accident. An experience like that does have an impact.

“For me, it was how important life is: each and every day and valuing it and making a difference to it as well.

Mr Albanese’s Toyota Camry was written off in the crash. Picture: X

Mr Albanese still has difficulty sitting in a car for long distances. His smashed-up Corolla is seen above after the accident.

Mr Albanese pictured leaving hospital the day after the car accident with partner Jodie Haydon and son Anthony. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Mr Albanese was travelling on Hill Street in Marrickville, close to his home in Sydney’s inner west, when a Range Rover travelling in the wrong lane ploughed into his vehicle.

“All of a sudden, he was right in front of me and headed straight for me. I had a little millisecond to react,’’ he later said.

“It was all a little bit of a blur for me afterwards, but people are saying they heard the sound of the whack two blocks away. Certainly from looking at my car, that’s the case.

“I was just very lucky I had a guardian angel up there looking after me.”

In the interview with news.com.au, he also reflected on the moment he teared up when he called the election when talking about his late mother Maryanne, a disability pensioner who struggled with arthritis.

After the car accident, he ended up in the same hospital room his mum was taken to before she died in 2002.

“The only times I’ve been in it was with my mum when she went in, in 2002 after an aneurysm, and she never came out of Prince Alfred Hospital,’’ he told news.com.au.

“She struggled on and fought for a couple of weeks, before she passed away. She was only 65 years old.”

Mr Albanese ended up in the same hospital room his mum Maryanne (together above) was in before her abrupt death in 2002. Picture: Facebook

Mr Albanese said he was struck by how he received the same care as his mother did – despite being the leader of the Labor Party. Picture: Facebook

At the time of the accident, Mr Albanese said it “just really hit home to me that I was leader of the Labor Party, the alternative prime minister at the time and I got the same care as my mum”.

“I do think that (Medicare) is part of the Australian story,’’ he said.

“The two issues that really politicised me as a young man were housing. My mum lived in the one council house for all of her 65 years and they were gonna flog it off,’’ he said.

“So we ran an anti-privatisation campaign.

“But also health, because my mum was an invalid pensioner, who was crippled up with rheumatoid arthritis and then had other issues.

“She struggled to get the right care. She was a woman by herself. She was very generous, so would agree to go on trials of drugs and, uh, all, all of that.

“But she had a really tough life.”

Mr Albanese said he surprised himself by tearing up in the press conference when he called the election.

“I walked out to that first press conference, not expecting to really talk about that in such a personal way.”

Originally published as ‘Never forget’: Anthony Albanese breaks silence on devastating ongoing impact of car crash in 2021