While being involved in a caravan rollover can never be anything other than a horrific and terrifying ordeal, like so many traumatic events, it can also bring out the very best in human nature.
Kaylene and Malcolm Booth, who are both in their early sixties, were lucky to survive after a gust of wind sent their car and van crashing off the Hume Highway last week. Now, the daughter of the couple, has thanked the motorists and emergency service personnel who came to their aid in the immediate aftermath of the accident near Sutton Forest.
Chantelle Corbett has issued a public appeal to try to track down the many people who rushed to do what they could to help.
“Nobody had to stop, but so many people did,” she told the Illawarra Mercury. “There was one man who gave my dad at least three or four litres of water, just to keep him hydrated.”
Chantelle’s mum, Kaylene, was behind the wheel when the caravan rolled and she was then trapped in the vehicle for more than an hour, before being released and taken to Liverpool Hospital suffering abdominal injuries. Mrs Booth was released from hospital on Saturday.
Mr Booth escaped injury completely and declared himself ‘lucky to be alive’.
One of the first people to arrive on the scene was an off-duty fireman who stayed with the couple the whole time.
“He knew exactly what to do so, if it wasn’t for him, I don’t know where my mum would be because she did go into shock,” Chantelle told the Mercury.
The grateful daughter would like to find the fireman and the person who held her mum’s head in the car ‘so we as a family can thank them personally’.
“They didn’t mention their names to either Mum or Dad,” she said.
The couple had only the caravan for two months and the accident happened on just their second trip away in it, although both are very experienced travellers who had been towing caravans for decades.
“I’ve watched the dashcam footage of it and you can just slowly see the car moving from side to side, then it goes right over to the left-hand side and then mum straightens it up,” said Chantelle. “My dad’s yelling ‘you’re gonna lose it’ … then a second later, ‘nup, we’ve lost it’.”
Well done to the people who stopped and gave aid.
Very heartening to hear Kaylene and Malcolm are ok. Hope the incident doesn’t put them off, of one of life’s greatest adventures.