Paul Murray's crashed car didn't initially ring any alarm bells. PIC: West Australian
A 63-year-old who was injured in a crash on a remote West Australian road nearly died after passing cars failed to notice him.
Police believe Paul Murray lay beside the Great Central Road for about five hours before he was finally spotted by a pair of motorists just as dusk was drawing in. It is believed he lost control of the vehicle and it rolled off the road, about 140 kilometres from Laverton.
The Warburton man managed to pull himself from the car and crawl to the roadside to make himself more visible. He was able to move his leg in order to signal for help.
With at least two vehicles failing to notice him and suffering from dehydration, things were looking pretty bleak for Mr Murray until workers, Connor Cracknell and Kevin Davidson drove by
“I had my earphones in and something caught my eye and I said to Kevin, ‘Did you see something’,” Mr Cracknell told the West Australian newspaper. “He hadn’t but we turned around and went back. I seriously thought he was dead when I turned up. He was in quite a state.”
The pair called police and administered first aid while waiting for help to come from at least an hour away.
Police praised the actions of the vigilant pair saying they probably saved Mr Murray’s life, but Mr Cracknell, 23, played down his role, saying that in remote areas ‘everyone helps everyone’.
“It’s been an eye-opener,” he told the West Australian. “It opened my eyes about how remote we are.”
With so many burnt-out and wrecked cars along remote roads, it is thought that the sight of Mr Cracknell’s vehicle didn’t ring any alarm bells for the motorists who had passed by earlier.
My Murray is now recovering form his ordeal in hospital.
