The chain reaction of one driver’s split-second decision has left Dayna Geier “scarred for life”.
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On Saturday, October 28 about midnight, Dayna was on her way to pick up her partner Greg Airey from work at Launceston General Hospital.
As she made her way through the intersection of Wellington and York streets, she collided with a car that had run a red light.
The impact caused Dayna’s car to spin before hitting a pylon.
The second car crashed into a power pole.
The accident only lasted a few seconds, but for Dayna, it felt like an eternity.
“I feel like it all happened in slow motion,” she said.
“The car came from my blindside and, at that intersection, you can’t do anything until you are right into it. I was just in a state of shock and all I could remember was the car spinning.
“I must have passed out for a few seconds and when I came around, my bonnet was crumpled up in front of me and my windscreen was smashed.
“I had this pain shooting down through my legs and I was actually too scared to look down.
“I could see my front bumper looking at me from the other side of the road.
“My heart felt like it was jumping out of my chest.
“It was the most horrible feeling I have ever had.”
The car that hit Dayna had allegedly been stolen and was being driven by an 18-year-old man on a joy ride with some friends.
There were four other passengers in his car, including one who fled the scene.
“I have been left with all these mental issues, a broken body and a broken car and all because of someone else’s reckless actions.
- Dayna Geier
Fortunately for Dayna, an ambulance returning to LGH was only a few vehicles behind her at the time of the crash and quickly transported her to hospital.
Meanwhile her partner Greg, still waiting to be picked up, decided to walk home assuming maybe Dayna had just been held up.
Making his way down Wellington Street, he came across the crash scene and said he immediately thought the worst.
”I saw all the lights and then it hit me,” he said.
“I just remember thinking ‘don't tell me, don't tell me’. I just bolted over to where the smash was and she wasn't in there.
“By this point I was scared out of my mind.”
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Greg returned to LGH to find Dayna, who was lucky to have only suffered a broken sternum and significant bruising as a result of the impact.
The driver and passengers in the second car also escaped with only minor injuries.
Dayna said all she ever thinks about is how much worse it could have been.
“Everyone I spoke to at the hospital just said it was amazing that I was actually alive,” she said.
“My seat belt and the airbag did its job and that is pretty much the only thing that saved me.”
Dayna has been a baker at Cripps Bakery for 12 years and is still not back to her full duties.
Currently on a return-to-work program, she has also been receiving road trauma counseling and said sometimes she wonders if her life will ever go back to how it use to be.
The first time she was driven through the intersection where the crash occurred, she said she blacked-out.
Supporting her along the way, Dayna’s partner Greg said it has been heartbreaking to watch her suffer.
“There were many things I wanted to say to the [people] who did this to her,” he said.
“It is pretty clear from this accident that people don’t think.
“They just get behind the wheel and think they are invincible. That nothing is going to happen to them and nothing is going to happen to anyone else. If they hadn’t hit Dayna, they could have gone straight into the side of the building.
“If they didn’t hit Dayna, they could have hit a pedestrian.”
One thing Greg has not been able to bring himself to do, is watch CCTV footage from the Jailhouse Grill that captured the moment the crash occurred.
Now two months on, Dayna’s injuries are still healing and she said the psychological trauma is something she doesn’t think she will ever fully recover from.
“I watch that video and it only takes a few seconds and it’s over,” she said.
“But so much changed for me in that moment.
“I never used to have anxiety and now I do. It was something that was triggered from this crash.
“I have been left with all these mental issues, a broken body and a broken car and all because of someone else’s reckless actions.
“I have deal with all of this and I didn’t do anything wrong, it is just ridiculous.
“They don’t think about how their actions will affect others. I’ve been affected, Greg has been affected – work, my family, my friends.
"People need to think about how their actions affect others, because you are not invincible when you get behind (the wheel of) a car.”
Dayna and Greg’s message is part of The Examiner’s road safety campaign – In Your Hands.
If you or someone you know has been impacted by a road tragedy, Road Trauma Support Tasmania is available on 6777 6252.
Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
