Ferntree Gully
Belgrave
Mail Covering the Dandenongs in the Yarra Ranges & Cardinia Shires
8 Tuesday, 10 November, 2015
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Miracle escape By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS A SELBY woman and her horse have walked away from an horrific car crash that destroyed her car and horse float on Sunday, 1 November. Rebecca Rundle, 23, shared photos of the crash and a message to road users to be careful around horse floats on Facebook that has since been shared more than 7000 times. Ms Rundle was travelling along the Belgrave-Hallam Road when a Toyota ute attempted to overtake her on double solid lines. “When he first went to overtake me I thought ‘What is he doing?’,” Ms Rundle said. “I never thought he would keep going but he did and I thought ‘This guy is insane’.” The Toyota was driven on the shoulder of the right-hand lane, avoiding a crash with one car before it collided head-on with a Ford sedan which pushed Ms Rundle and her horse off the road. “We went off-road together, through a ditch and a fence then ended on a power pole and a tree,” Ms Rundle said. “When we went through the ditch the horse float fell on its side and ripped the tow bar off my car.” “The float broke open at that stage and I have no idea how my horse is okay.” The horse, Bobbie, sustained no serious injuries with only cuts and bruises, which Ms Rundle said was very lucky. “As soon as the car was stationary, the first thing I did was get Bobbie out of the float and take her somewhere safe,” she said. “I don’t know the full extent of the damage yet but she is really sore. She’s very dull and not herself.” Ms Rundle also only received minor injuries despite the severity of the accident, but said she had been badly
Above: Rebecca Rundle and her horse Bobbie sustained only minor injuries after a horror car accident. 146644 Picture: VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS Right: Ms Rundle's car and horse float were a mess after the accident. 146644 Picture: CONTRIBUTED affected psychologically. “It’s a day by day struggle for me mentally, I think about it all the time,” she said. In her viral Facebook post, Ms Rundle extends her well-wishes to the other drivers who suffered much more severe injuries. The driver of the Ford sedan, a
23-year-old Narre Warren North woman, had to be taken by air to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with serious, nonlife threatening injuries. The 21-year-old Wheelers Hill driver of the Toyota, was taken to the Dandenong Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Ms Rundle said it will take months for her horse to recover enough to start
float training again but she was unsure when she would be ready to tow a float again. “What people don’t seem to understand is there is a live animal in a horse float and you can never predict the movement they will make.” “It’s so important to be careful when sharing the road with horse floats. There is nowhere you need to
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be that is so important it’s worth risking yours and other people’s lives like that,” she said. Police are looking to speak to the unidentified car that narrowly avoid the Toyota moments before the collision and are appealing to the driver to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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