‘My life could’ve been brilliant’: Eli Murn’s ‘first life’ stolen in an instant
Eli Murn was out to celebrate getting into uni when he lost control of his car and smashed into two trees in the Adelaide Hills.
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Serious car crash victim Eli Murn has never wondered “why” after he suffered life-altering injuries.
He said he knows why – he made dangerous choices.
It was May 2004 when Mr Murn was driving along a road he knew well in the Adelaide Hills with his girlfriend
He was celebrating getting into university to study a Bachelor of Science in food and nutrition.
“I was going to be a personal trainer to the stars,” the 43-year-old said.
For Mr Murn had been an Australian Institute of Sports volleyball player with chance of Olympics selection.
“My life could have been brilliant,” he said.
But a joy ride through the windy, wet Hills roads turned Mr Murn’s life upside down.
The 24-year-old suffered three broken ribs, a punctured lung and an acquired brain injury.
“I was showing off … going well above the speed limit.”
Mr Murn’s car spun out of control and hit two pine trees on the side of the road.
“I knew I had lost control at speed … I could see the trees whizzing past the windscreen,” he said.
“I knew that I was sideways and I couldn’t catch the car.
“I remember thinking that every risk I have ever taken has led to this – and it’s all come unstuck,” he said, vividly recalling the crash.
“It’s good for nothing. Here we go. We’re just going to have to deal with it now. Get ready for impact.”
All Mr Murn remembers is flashes of being taken away in the ambulance, being wheeled down hospital corridors, doctors with stethoscopes leaning over him and flashing lights.
Doctors placed him into an induced coma to allow his body to continue to heal.
When Mr Murn finally woke up he turned to his cousin, Nicole Rodden, who was in the hospital room at the time. “I f**ked up hey”,” he told The Sunday Mail.
“Yeah you did Eli,” Ms Rodden replied.
Mr Murn’s girlfriend at the time walked away from the crash with a bruised shoulder. She changed her number and never contacted him again.
Mr Murn spent two weeks in ICU, a further six weeks in the high care ward at Flinders Medical Centre before nine months at Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre and another 11 months undertaking formal home-based therapy.
“You’re not achieving anything by taking risks on the road … no one’s impressed,” he said.
“We can all choose the risk but it gets to choose the consequences,” he said.
And the consequences for Mr Murn were life changing.
When Mr Murn’s mum, Lynette Donnellan was interviewed by police in the days after her only son’s crash she said “a little light went out inside of her that night”.
“I don’t know whether it can ever be relit,” Mr Murn said, adding: “I try now to do the best I can and be the best person I can be, essentially 20 years too late.”
Police data shows the number of serious injuries on South Australian roads is at its highest since at least 2015.
Currently, there has been 248 serious injuries on our roads in 2023, compared to 175 at the same time last year, a 41.7 per cent increase.
South Australia experienced comparable numbers in 2021 with 244 serious injuries.
Superintendent Bob Gray said fatalities are not the only road trauma experienced by our community.
“Each year, thousands of individuals, families, sporting clubs, businesses and communities are affected by the ongoing and often lifelong impact of serious injuries on our roads,” he said.
“The impact of these injuries can be felt for years and may affect a person’s ability to work or even live independently.
“Our message to everyone using our roads is to think about the impact of their decisions and their driving behaviour.”
Mr Murn says he is now in his “second life”.
In his “first life” Mr Murn was a sporting star who took dangerous risks while driving, skipped schools and did drugs.
“A million people say, if I can have my time again, well, I’ve been handed my time again on a silver platter and I’m going to do it right,” he said.
Mr Murn said thanks to “hard work” and a “massive amount of teamwork from my wife” Ali, he’s managed to create a “blissful” life and can “contribute to society” and raise his stepdaughter Caitlin.,
Mr Murn, thanks to MFS, RAA and Road Safety Education (RYDA), speaks to high school students about the dangers of taking risks on the roads.
Holly Scott was driving to her boyfriend at the time in Echunga when she crashed head-on into a tree only a street away from his home.
“(My boyfriend) found me … wrapped around a tree,” said Ms Scott.
MFS had to cut the roof off Ms Scott’s car and cut around the car to get her out.
It was July 2, 2017, Ms Scott was 22 years old.
She suffered with multiple fractures in her legs, pelvis and spine, her liver was torn and she had several brain bleeds.
Now 27, Ms Scott she doesn’t know what her future will be like. Prior to her crash Ms Scott had just started a new full-time job.
“I was setting myself up for the future,” she said. Now “everything has changed”.
“Mobility wise, I can’t move like I used to, I can’t run, I can’t jump, I can’t stand for long periods of time. I wake up crying when it’s winter in the cold,” she said.
“With my brain injury … I don’t know if I can work full time, I don’t know how I’ll go having kids. I don’t know how I’ll make a living for myself.”
Originally published as ‘My life could’ve been brilliant’: Eli Murn’s ‘first life’ stolen in an instant
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