A woman in her 80s from Melbourne is currently hospitalized following an incident in which her husband lost control of his vehicle and accidentally ran over her in their driveway.
The 87-year-old is battling for her life after being struck by a Ford Falcon station wagon at their home in Fawkner.
Sen-Constable Sean Foley from the Fawkner Highway Patrol mentioned that the incident was deemed an accident.
“The vehicle lost control, and in turn, hit his wife behind the gate before proceeding through the garage and colliding with the fence of the rear neighbor,” Sen-Constable Foley stated.
“The cause of the accident remains unknown, so we cannot provide further detail on how it occurred.”
Upon arrival at the scene around 1pm, 11 minutes after the emergency call, intensive care paramedic Tim Sandford reported that the woman was conscious but in severe pain. The man involved sustained no injuries.
“The woman was found in the backyard in a significant amount of distress, aware of her surroundings but confused about the situation.
“She suffered serious lacerations to her head along with evident fractures in both arms, her pelvis, as well as in her upper right leg and right ankle.
“We administered a drip for pain relief to increase her comfort and fluids to stabilize her blood pressure.
“Afterwards, we successfully splinted her fractures to keep her bones aligned and utilized equipment to protect her spine while transferring her onto a stretcher.”
Emergency personnel discovered the woman lying in her backyard “amidst the shattered remains of her pot plants.”
Mr. Sandford indicated that it seemed the vehicle had traveled down the woman’s driveway and through a shed before impacting her.
The car continued through the yard, crashing into a rear fence, ultimately coming to a halt in the neighbor’s property.
According to Mr. Sandford, the extent of the injuries the woman sustained would pose a significant challenge for even a younger individual to recover from, indicating her recovery journey will be quite difficult.
Authorities have stated that they are currently investigating the incident.
