Crash victims are ‘lucky to be alive’

By Dion Teasdale
DIXONS Creek couple Irene and John Philp are lucky to be alive after a head-on collision with a motorbike, ridden by an Italian tourist and his niece, three days before Christmas.
The pair was travelling along the Melba Highway on Thursday, 22 December about 5.30pm when the incident occurred.
“We were driving from Yarra Glen to our property at Dixons Creek. We were on the bend near Old Healesville Road. John was driving and I was in the front passenger seat,” Mrs Philp said.
Mrs Philp said the moment of impact would be etched in her memory forever.
“Every time I close my eyes I see the bike coming at us. I see the rider frozen in front of us and then I remember what it felt like at the very instant we collided,” she said.
“I remember thinking ‘this is it’. I thought we were dead. I saw the bike plough into the bonnet of our car, and the rider hit the windscreen, and then I thought it would all be over.”
The force of the impact was so great, Mrs Philp said, that the front wheel of the motor bike sliced through the car’s engine.
“It is an absolute miracle we all survived, although I think we spent eight of our nine lives in one go,” she said.
The motorbike rider and his passenger were thrown clear of the scene and landed in long grass on the side of the highway.
“The Italian man was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition, but we’ve been told he should pull through, and his niece is recovering,” Mrs Philp said.
The Philps sustained only minor injuries in the incident.
Mrs Philps suffered a broken sternum, crushed lungs and heart, bruised feet and legs and she was covered from head to foot in glass.
“They had to use a dust buster to remove all the glass from my body,” she recalls.
It took emergency service personnel about an hour to cut her from the wreckage.
“John suffered bruising on his chest, whiplash and neck injuries and was covered in glass cuts,” Mrs Philp said.
“Really though, despite feeling sore, we are both extremely lucky. People who see the car can’t believe that we survived,” Mrs Philp said.
“The police have since told us that the first question they asked when they got to the scene of the accident was ‘how many dead?’”
Mr Philp said he did not think either he or his wife would be alive today had it not been for the seat belts they were wearing, and the structural integrity of their Holden Commodore.
“The car crumpled really well. The cabin frame held strong and with the seat belts, which locked us both in our seats, this saved our lives,” he said.
“It’s a shame that the car is a write-off, but we have to look at the positives. It could have been so much worse.”
The Philps said their good fortune continued after the incident.
“The emergency service crews were absolutely wonderful. They took such good care of us and we will be eternally thankful for their care,” Mrs Philp said.
“We want to thank everyone who helped us, the emergency services personnel, the ambulance officers, the motorists who stopped and helped out, and the staff and Red Cross volunteers at the Maroondah Hospital.”